In His Eyes
by Be A Warrior Casseau
Summary: Nightmares are plaguing Jason when he receives news of a near-tragedy. Can he reveal his true feelings after nearly losing the one he loves? Will his 'bro' be the same after the accident and could he ever return Jason's feelings? SLASH-Long, but worth it
1. Losing Sleep

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:**I do not own Power Rangers nor do I make any money from the writing of these stories. Any characters you recognize are the property of Saban/Disney. Any ones you don't come from my fertile little imagination.

**Author's Notes****:**This story is set during PR Zeo, near the beginning of the series. It doesn't conform strictly to the timeline, however. You have to allow more time between significant events—definitely AU. This is more of a relationship story—not action oriented. I've tried to portray the characters in a more realistic way—we all knew they weren't that "goody two shoes", right? But I wouldn't say they are out of character, just a little more real. Please leave a review if you enjoy.

**Warnings****: **Rating Teen to Mature. Starts out tame but won't stay that way, I promise! Slash—m/m, strong language, sexual situations. If you don't like Slash, don't read. Simple as that. Tommy/Jason.

**Chapter 1**

Geneva, Switzerland

Peace Conference—Boys Dormitory A

Room A33—3:43am

". . . no more. . .no. . .please. . .no more. . .can't. . .Stop!. . .can't stand it. . ." The sleeping young man thrashed his head back and forth, clenching his fists. He was quiet for a minute or so and then it began again.

". . .hurting him. . .Stop!. . .don't hurt him. . .please. . .Tommy!" With that, Jason Scott sat straight up in bed, gasping and dripping with sweat. He ran a shaking hand through his short, dark hair.

"Damn. This has got to stop," he moaned, trying to calm himself down.

"Agreed," came the exasperated reply from Jason's roommate, Jacques, who was getting thoroughly annoyed at being woken up night after night by Jason's bad dreams.

"Sorry, Jacques—I don't know what's causing all these nightmares. I don't usually do this," he explained, still shaking.

"Yeah. . .it's okay. Go back to sleep, huh?" Jacques said sleepily in his thick Quebecois accent. He turned over and covered his head, muttering something in French.

Jason lay back on his bed and tried to relax. He was so tired and his nerves were so frazzled, but he doubted that he would get any rest tonight.

'_Why do I keep having dreams about Tommy? And why are they so violent?'_

He lay awake in bed for the rest of the night, trying to recall his nightmares, attempting to make some sense of it all.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hey Jase, how'd you do on that government test? Jase? Earth to Jason. . ." Zack waved his hand in front of the former red ranger's face.

"Hmmm? What? Oh, hey." Jason shook his head to try and wake himself. Zack plunked his lunch down on the table and pulled up a chair.

"Damn Jase. . .you look like hell."

"Thanks buddy. You really know how to make a guy feel good," Jason replied, propping his head up on his hand.

"Nightmares again?" Zack asked, the concern for his old friend evident in his voice.

Jason shook his head. "I don't know why it's happening, Zack. It doesn't make sense."

"You still haven't told me exactly what the dreams are about. Wanna talk about it?"

Jason thought for a moment. "I don't know, man. Part of me wants to tell you and another part is afraid to put it into words. You know, like if you don't talk about it, it isn't real sorta thing?"

"I understand, but Jase—you need to sleep. How long has this been going on now—three weeks?"

"Yep, just about."

"No wonder you look like 40 miles of bad road."

"There you go again, cheering me up."

"It might make you feel better if you talk about it, ya know? And who knows, I might even be able to help you make some sense of it!" Zack didn't fancy himself a psychologist, but his friend needed some help and he was willing to try. Besides, curiosity was getting the best of him.

Jason sighed heavily and looked around to make sure no one could overhear their conversation. He turned back to Zack and, in a low voice, began to spill.

"It's Tommy. . ." he started, but paused, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Isn't it always?!" Zack replied, a note of amusement in his voice.

"Not funny, Zack. I wish they were _those_kind of dreams, but they're not—they're awful. . .violent."

"Green ra-" he stopped as a group of students passed close by. Then he began again. "Green ranger violent?"

Jason shook his head. "No, he's not giving—he's receiving."

The former black ranger cocked his head questioningly.

Jason wore a very worried look. "Zack, I've been dreaming about him being tortured—beaten, whipped, run through with a sword, shocked. . ." he broke off when his emotions threatened to get the better of him.

Zack's eyes had widened. "That's some heavy stuff, man. But you know they're just dreams, right? Haven't you talked to Tommy lately?"

"Yeah. . .three or four days ago. He was telling me about hanging out with David—you can imagine how excited he is to finally get to know his brother! And yes, he's fine. I know what you're going to say. But if I know he's okay, why am I still having these dreams?"

"Hmmm. . .good question. Do you think, maybe, you're harbouring some ill will toward him? Deep-seated resentment over the whole leadership thing?" He noticed an unpleasant look appear on the former red ranger's face. "I'm grasping at straws here, aren't I?"

"Uh. . .yeah," Jason said, sounding more than a little annoyed. "Man, you know how I feel about all that! None of it was Tommy's doing—he was as surprised as I was. And you're one of the _only _people who know how I really feel about him. Could I feel like that and resent him at the same time? No."

"Yeah, sorry. I know better," he sighed. "So then, why? No ideas at all?"

"Not really," Jason said. "Nothing I want to think about, anyway."

Zack suddenly understood what he had meant and his mouth dropped open. "You don't think that you're. . . 'telling' again, do ya?"

The former black ranger was well aware of Jason's intermittent "gift" of knowing something was going to happen before it actually did. Years ago he had joked, calling him a fortune teller.

"Oh god, I hope not—but I'm worried."

"Did you tell him?"

"No, what am I supposed to say? 'I'm having these crazy dreams—watch your back'?"

"Yes—exactly. Tommy knows about your intuition—he wouldn't think you're weird," he paused while a grin spread across his face. "Well, no weirder than usual!" The attempt at humour fell flat—Jason was in no mood to laugh.

Zack reined himself in—his old friend didn't need to be irritated as well as worried and exhausted. "Okay, sorry. At least promise me that you'll go to the infirmary and get something to help you sleep."

"I don't like taking chemicals, Zack--you know that."

"And _you _know that this is Switzerland and they probably have some 800-year-old herbal cure for anything that ailes you! Go—please—I'm worried about you. _And _you look like hell!" He winked at him and jumped quickly out of the way, lest he be swatted by one of Jason's large hands.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Three days later, things weren't much better. Jason was getting a little more sleep, thanks to the foul-tasting concoction the nurse had given him. At least that was something, but he found himself thinking more and more about Tommy—and becoming more worried. He began to wonder if his feelings for the current red ranger were influencing his judgment about these dreams.

Tommy was the main reason that Jason was in Switzerland to begin with. Ever since the former red ranger had admitted to himself that he felt more than friendship toward his bro, being in Angel Grove and having to see him with Kimberly every day had gotten more and more painful. He had been sure that his best friend would never return his feelings, and Kim was like his little sister—he didn't want to try to come between them—so when the opportunity to attend the peace conference presented itself, Jason jumped at it. However, he hadn't counted on Tommy's reaction when he told him of his acceptance.

Jason expected surprise and sadness, which he got, but he also sensed that the former green ranger was. . .hurt. Hurt that Jason would go off to another country without him. All of Tommy's insecurities came rushing back. His emotional scaffolding was being torn away and he would have to lead the ranger team alone. Could he do it without his best friend? Who would he talk to? Who would he confide in? Who would be there for him when the nightmares started again?

The look on Tommy's face was burned into Jason's memory—those big, chocolate brown eyes filled with pain and tears, his lips trembling. Tommy didn't allow himself to be that emotional with anyone but him. As a matter of fact, his bro was the only one who had seen him cry since he was 12. Jason hugged him tightly and promised that they'd always be best friends and that he would keep in touch while he was in Geneva, but. . .there was something else there—something intangible.

Jason had felt it again in the days leading up to his departure for Switzerland. Tommy was with him in his bedroom, helping him pack and something just felt . . . _different_ between them. Not in a bad way—not like something was missing. Actually, it was more like something had been added. At the time, Jason had just chalked it up to the fact that they were emotional—sad, excited, scared, nervous, etc., etc.

But in the time that had passed since, Jason had begun to see things differently. Their relationship now was as close as it could possibly be with so much distance between them. Sure, it had been strained at first—there's a learning curve involved in any intercontinental friendship. But the strangeness didn't last long. They talked regularly, and sent each other long emails and even funny, some would say obscene, cards! They had talked even more in recent weeks, what with Tommy's discovery of his only brother and his breakup with Kim.

Concerning that, Jason had initially wanted to throttle Kim for breaking his bro's heart like that. How dare she take the coward's way out by sending a letter to someone as sensitive as Tommy? When he found out about it, Jason had called the girl he considered his lil' sis and thoroughly blessed her out. That was the last time he had spoken to her. But to tell the truth, a part of Jason was actually glad, though he would never tell Tommy that. It sort of opened the door for him to move in.

The last couple of times he had seen Tommy had gone rather well. Their hugs had felt more like embraces and they shared looks that were hard to define as anything other than love—brotherly love, yes—but there was more than just that. Jason was beginning, though cautiously, to have a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, Tommy was beginning to feel for him what he had felt for Tommy for a long time.

And those freakin' dreams! Not the recent violent ones—the maddeningly hot, erotic ones! The kind that require _two _cold showers to get over! Jason had had several of _those _during the last month, too.

Sitting at his desk, he remembered a funny incident--the one that let him know that things were getting out of hand. He and Jacques had gotten into an interesting conversation one morning while getting dressed for their first class of the day.

"Okay, let me see a good picture of Tommy—I have to know what this guy looks like."

"Hmmm?" Jason was completely thrown off by his request.

"Well, I want to see the reason I'm losing so much sleep! Most nights you're either trying to save his life or you're fuckin' his brains out and I just want to see what the guy looks like!" His large, green eyes sparkled with amusement. Jacques didn't mince words—you gotta love the French!

Jason was mortified—he didn't know what to say. He just looked at his grinning roommate, mouth gaping open, blushing ferociously.

"Well? Let's see this gorgeous creature!" Jacques wasn't going to let it go.

Jason turned to his desk and pulled out his favourite picture of Mr. Thomas Oliver and handed it to Jacques. It was a picture that Jason had taken at the lake last summer on his short trip home. Tommy was stretched out on a beach towel and propped up on one elbow. He wore only a snug pair of white swim trunks which were, at the moment, slung very low over his hips. The color of the trunks served to emphasize his beautifully bronzed skin and the suntan oil he had applied glistened in the sun, causing the definition in his chest, abs, and arms to be even more pronounced. His hair hung long and loose around his face and shoulders, blowing slightly in the breeze. The look in those big chocolate eyes would melt you where you stood. He was, in a word, _edible_.

Jacques took a long look at the picture and then slowly shook his head and whistled in appreciation. "Mon Dieu! I understand now!" Jason laughed and just looked at his roommate. "Does he have a brother?!" Jacques added.

Out of habit, Jason started to say 'no', but he suddenly remembered David. He was still getting used to the idea of Tommy not being an only child. He giggled and said, "Yeah, as a matter of fact, he does!" He pulled out a new picture that his bro had sent him recently of himself and David standing with their arms thrown around each other's shoulders.

"That's David there with the choker necklace on." Jason indicated the taller of the two young men.

"Wow! They're both beautiful. Will you introduce me if I visit you in California?" Jacques grinned.

"Absolutely!" Then he thought of one major sticking point. "Although I don't know if either one of them is really into guys."

"What?! I thought Tommy was your boyfriend."

Jason looked at the floor. "No, I only wish he was. But he _is _my best friend. I just have to work on getting him to see things my way."

"Well, he'd be stupid to turn you down," Jacques said.

That was the first time that Jason and Jacques had ever mentioned anything about their sexual orientation. Turns out they were both bi, which gave each of them someone to talk to when the road got bumpy.

Back in the present, Jason was no closer to figuring out the cause of these disturbing dreams. He _had _sent Tommy an email telling him to be extra careful and told him that he had been feeling uneasy. Tommy wrote back calling him a mother hen, but said that he would watch out and thanked Jason for caring enough to let him know. He also told the former red ranger to take good care of himself because he was counting on seeing him soon. That thought delighted Jason—he just wished that he could shake this bad feeling he had.

Room A33—2:15am

(1 month after the nightmares started)

Jason sat bolt upright in bed, sweating and still clutching the bed sheets. After the momentary shock passed, he held his head in his hands and tried to slow his breathing and his heart rate.

"Oh god," he choked. This had been the worst one yet, but the horrifying thing was, he couldn't shake the darkness that had enveloped him. He had a lump in his throat and a knot in his stomach. Jason wasn't sure what a panic attack felt like, but he was sure this had to be damn close.

'_Breathe, Scott. Come on.' _It wasn't working.

Getting up from his rumpled, sweat-soaked bed, he walked over to the sink and splashed some cold water on his face. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Zack was right—he looked like hell.

'_Well, another night with little to no sleep.' _

He sat down heavily at his desk and looked at the picture of Tommy that lay before him. The knot in his stomach tightened. He called on every bit of training he had ever had to help him calm down. Closing his eyes, he leaned back in his desk chair and tried to. . .just. . .breathe.

Room A33—2:45am

Never has a phone sounded so loud—ever.

The obnoxious ring shattered the peace of the dark room like a mirror being smashed on the ground. Nearly asleep at his desk, Jason nearly jumped out of his skin. He scrambled to get to it just to stop the noise and then it hit him—

'_Who would be calling at this hour of the morning?!' _The knot was back with a vengeance.

His shaking hand hovered over the receiver and stopped—he couldn't move any further.

'_Pick it up, Scott! It might be important!' _

After several tense seconds, he managed to grab the receiver and hold it to his ear, still shaking.

"H-hello?" he stammered.

"Jase?"

"Yeah?" He knew that voice—his entire body went cold. "Billy?"

'_Why the fuck is Billy calling me at this hour?'_

"Yeah. I'm sorry to wake you—I know it's the middle of the night there." He paused and Jason heard him take a shaky breath.

"Jase. . .it. . .it's Tommy. . ."

_________________________________________________________________________

_Author's Note: As this is my first fanfic, I would greatly appreciate feedback. Please leave a review so that I know how I'm doing--the more reviews I get, the faster I'll update!_


	2. Waiting and Worrying

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****: **Please see Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****: **Sorry about the evil cliffhanger ending to Chapter 1—I had to do something to get you to read Chapter 2! Please leave a review if you enjoy!

**Rating: **Teen to Mature (later chapters) Remember, this is Slash. Don't like, don't read.

**Chapter 2—Waiting and Worrying**

Jason felt his blood freeze in his veins.

"Oh god—no," he choked out, his voice barely a whisper. "What happened? Is he okay?"

"Jason, I don't know—he's in surgery now," Billy said as calmly as he could manage.

"Surgery?! What the hell happened, Billy?!" Jason felt like his insides were being twisted.

"There was an attack down by the waterfront—Tommy and Adam were trapped in a building when it collapsed."

Jason gasped—horrible images were flooding his mind.

"H-how bad is he, Billy? Tell me the truth!" He was shaking badly now.

"Jase, I really don't know. We've gotten very little information so far. The only thing I know for sure is that the monitors in the power chamber show that he's in real trouble." He was referring to the monitors that keep track of all of the rangers—their locations and their health status—vital signs, etc.

"Oh my god. . .Okay, I'm on my way." Jason's voice was husky and ragged, an indication of the fear welling up in his body.

"Take the express, Jason---it's okay," Billy said, letting him know that this was enough of an emergency for him to use the communicator that was still in his possession. It would transport him directly to the hospital.

"Oh, I was going to, okay or not. I'll be there as fast as I can," Jason answered. At this moment, he didn't care if he had permission or not—he had to get to Tommy as quickly as possible and he'd do whatever he had to to make that happen.

"Okay. I'll call Zack and Trini, don't worry about that."

"Thanks. Bye Billy." Jason wasn't trying to be short with the former blue ranger, but he had to get home.

The phone ringing and Jason's conversation had woken Jacques, who was now sitting up in bed. "Jason, what's wrong?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

The former red ranger was rushing around in a near panic, shoving clothes and other necessities into a big duffle bag.

"Tommy's hurt—he's in surgery—I've gotta go home." The pain and fear in his voice were obvious.

"Oh no—here, let me help," Jacques said, jumping up and helping Jason gather his things. "Don't forget your wallet and passport," his roommate advised, not knowing that he really didn't need either.

"Thanks, I won't," Jason said, searching for what he really _did _need—that communicator.

"Jacques, please help me find something. I'm not thinking straight."

"Sure, what?"

"It's a . . . watch . . . silver, with a cover over the face. I have to take it with me." Jacques gave him an odd look, but didn't question as Jason was clearly in no mood to explain.

They started rummaging through Jason's closet, clothes drawers, and nightstand.

"God! Where is it?!" Jason growled—he never thought he'd need it and now he couldn't remember where he'd stashed it.

"Calm down, we'll find it." Jacques could tell that his roomie was about to come apart at the seams.

Suddenly, he grabbed something and held it out to Jason. "Is this it?!"

"Yes! Thank god! Thank you, Jacques." He took it and snapped it onto his wrist and finished cramming his clothes into his bag—he slung it over his shoulder.

"I have to go—I'll call you!" he said while hugging Jacques. "Thanks again."

"No problem. I hope everything will be okay, Jason."

"Me too, man. Me too. . ."

Jason ran out of their room and down the hall. He ducked into the empty common room and pressed the button on his communicator, dissolving into a flash of shimmering light.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Less than a minute later, he was standing outside Angel Grove Memorial Hospital. He ran in and got directions to the surgery waiting room and took off across the large hospital to find Billy, or Tommy's parents, or somebody—_anybody_—who could tell him how Tommy was.

After several long corridors, turns, elevators, and more directions, Jason finally reached the waiting area. He walked in quickly and scanned the room for anyone familiar. Over against one wall he spotted Billy and Tommy's parents sitting with a pretty blonde in pink and an equally pretty African-American girl in yellow. He thought he recognized them as Katherine and Tanya. As he walked toward the group, he studied the expressions of the older Oliver's faces. They looked worried, and Tommy's mother had been crying, but they didn't look panicked—a good sign, Jason thought.

Billy noticed him first; he stood and walked toward him with a weak smile on his face.

"Jase, you made it," the former blue ranger said while wrapping his arms around his old friend.

Jason gave him a one-armed hug and looked at him very intensely. "Heard anything yet?"

"No, not yet."

"How long's he been in there?"

"About 45 minutes, I think. The nurse said that she would update us." Billy placed a comforting hand on the former red ranger's shoulder.

Jason's insides were doing somersaults and he knew that the worry showed on his face. He took a few shaky breaths and dropped the duffle from his shoulder, slinging it under the seat next to Billy's. He stepped over in front of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver and knelt down, taking one of Mrs. Oliver's hands in his.

"Jason, hi. I didn't expect to see you," she said in a low voice.

"He's my best friend. . ." he said, leaving it at that. He didn't want to try to explain how he'd gotten home so fast. He made a quick mental note to make up a story for that later. "He's a real fighter—he'll be okay. I just know it," he said reassuringly. He only wished he could be so certain.

Jason spoke briefly to Kat and Tanya, and then Billy drew him off by himself, asking the girls to let them know if they heard anything. They walked out into the hallway. As soon as they were alone, Jason turned to Billy.

"Do you know anything that they don't?" he asked, indicating Tommy's family.

"No. The monitors only show vitals and such—I have no idea about specifics. I _do _know what the doctor told his parents, though. He has several broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a fairly severe head injury."

Jason took in a sharp breath, closed his eyes, and covered his mouth with his hand. He said a quick, silent prayer. He took a look around and then said in a low voice, "How could this happen, Billy? Wasn't he morphed?"

"No, they weren't. He and Adam were already inside when the attack began and, from what I understand, there were so many people and so much panic, that they couldn't morph unless they were going to do it in the open. They were trying to get people to safety when the building took a direct hit and started to come down."

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. How _is _Adam?" Jason hadn't meant to exclude him—he had just been so focused on Tommy.

"He's still being tended to, but I don't think his injuries were significant. He can tell you more about what happened than I can," Billy said.

"Isn't there anything Zordon can do, Billy? Isn't the medical bay at the power chamber better suited to treat Tommy's injuries?"

"No, he's better off here for now. The medical bay isn't equipped for this kind of emergency. Once he gets out of surgery, we can reassess the situation."

Jason didn't look convinced. With all of the advanced tech at the power chamber, surely Zordon, Alpha, and even Billy could do more to help the red ranger. Billy knew what he was thinking.

"Jase, I promise you—once the surgery is over, Alpha and I will discuss the situation and the doctor's prognosis. If we think that we can do more for him at the power chamber, we'll transport him right out of here, okay? Zordon does not value secrecy over human life. But you have to know—there are some injuries that just can't be healed, no matter how much technology you have. There are limitations."

"I know—and I know that Tommy is special to Zordon, so he'll do anything he can to heal him. I'm just so worried."

"Understandable, but try to think positive. Like you told Tommy's parents, he's a real fighter."

Just then, Katherine appeared in the doorway of the waiting room, looking for them. Billy raised his hand to get her attention and she walked over.

"The nurse just called from the O.R. and said that the surgeon has finished repairing Tommy's internal injuries and was setting the broken bones now. He should be in the recovery room in about an hour."

"He came through everything okay?" Jason asked.

"The nurse said that he's stable, but he's weak—he lost a lot of blood. He's going to the Intensive Care Unit. That's all I know," the pink ranger explained, nearly in tears.

"Okay, thanks," Jason replied. He wasn't feeling much better about things. He wasn't _going _to feel better until he saw Tommy with his own eyes and knew that he was going to pull through.

The three of them walked back into the waiting room and sat down, counting the minutes until they could see their friend. Then something occurred to Jason—what if the hospital would only allow family to see Tommy? They were _like_ brothers, but they weren't. He couldn't bear being turned away from his friend. Tommy needed him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Oliver, will it be possible for me to see Tommy in Recovery and ICU, or is it 'family only'?"

Mrs. Oliver smiled and patted his knee. She could see how distraught he was. "Jason, we'll make sure you get to see him. Don't worry."

"Thank you."

Jason looked up as a bandaged young man that he recognized as Adam walked in, followed closely by Rocky and a couple that he supposed were Adam's parents.

"No. I'm not leaving until I find out how Tommy is!" Adam announced. He was limping, but moving quickly in their direction.

His left arm and shoulder were bandaged and in a sling, his face was badly bruised and cut—there was a sizeable bandage on his forehead.

"Adam!" Katherine and Tanya said in unison as they jumped up to greet him. He did try to smile at them, but he was more intent on learning of Tommy's condition. He appeared to be quite upset.

"Billy, how is he? Have you heard from the doctor?"

Billy stood and tried to seem as calm as possible because the current green ranger was visibly shaking and clearly disturbed.

"Adam, try to relax. The nurse just informed us that he'll be out of surgery in about an hour—they're just setting his broken bones now."

"No one would tell me anything earlier. What all is wrong with him?"

"Internal bleeding, broken bones—ribs mostly, and a head injury," Billy replied.

Adam's eyes widened. "Head injury? Oh no."

"Yes, but we'll have to see how he is when he comes out of surgery. We don't know how significant it is yet." Billy knew that the doctor had said that the injury was severe, but he saw no reason to panic Adam further.

The green ranger suddenly realized who was standing next to their resident genius. "Jason? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Are you alright, Adam?"

"I'll be fine—I'm more worried about Tommy."

Rocky had walked up to stand beside his best friend and he now held out his hand to his predecessor. "Jason, nice to see you. Wish it could be under better circumstances."

Jason shook his hand and nodded. Then he sighed and cast his eyes down to the floor. "He's a fighter—he'll pull through. He has to," Jason said, but it was obvious by his strained voice that he was still very worried.

Rocky and Adam exchanged a glance. Neither of them knew Jason very well, but they had heard lots of stories from Tommy, Billy, and Kim about the first red ranger—stories about his bravery, loyalty, and good nature. One thing they _did_ know for sure was that he and Tommy were the very best of friends—closer than brothers—and they always would be. They had been inseparable from the beginning. Jason being in Switzerland hadn't changed a thing.

All of this was now crashing down on Adam as he stood there, looking at Jason's distraught face. Jason noticed that Adam kept looking at him, but would divert his eyes whenever he looked his way. He looked like he wanted to say something but. . .

'_What's going on with him?'_

He was still surprised, though, when Adam took him by the arm and led him a few feet away. He looked into the former red ranger's eyes—his own welling up with tears.

"Jason, I'm so sorry. . .it. . .it's my fault!" Adam choked. Tears began to trickle down his bruised face.

"What?! How could it be your fault, Adam?"

"It. . .just _is_!" Adam sobbed.

"You didn't bring that building down—it's not your fault." Jason looked at the crying young man incredulously.

'_Why would he think it was his fault?'_

"But. . .it should be **me **in there, not Tommy! He pushed me out of the way. . .that support beam should have hit **me**, not him!"

Jason was beginning to understand. "Adam, it's _not _your fault. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"But he got hurt saving me, Jason! What if he doesn't. . .I won't be able to live with myself!"

The first leader of the rangers carefully hugged him. "Adam, he's going to be okay. You have to believe that. Don't feel guilty—Tommy wouldn't want that." He pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Wouldn't you have done the same thing for him?"

Adam's red-rimmed eyes blinked a couple of times—his lips quivered. "Of course I would."

Jason gave him a reassuring smile. He reached down and touched the communicator on Adam's wrist. "That's what we do. Please don't blame yourself."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time passed slowly, painfully so. Every time the door opened or the phone rang at the nurse's desk, they would all jump and turn to look, waiting to hear the words "Oliver family." At long last, Tommy's parents were called into the small conference room outside the main waiting room. Jason, Billy, Rocky, Adam, Katherine, and Tanya all exchanged anxious looks along with Zack, Trini, and even Kimberly who had recently arrived. No one spoke—there was nothing to say. Everyone thought the same things, feared the same things, and desperately wanted to know what was being said in that little room.

Jason had looked up when Kim entered the room, but said nothing to her and now he wouldn't even look at her. He had no energy to dwell on what she had done to Tommy, but he wasn't ready to forgive her either. So when Mr. Oliver waved at Jason to join them in the hallway, he walked by her coldly, without so much as a glance.

"Jason, we can only go in two at a time—would you like to ask one of Tommy's other friends to go with you after his mother and I come out?"

"Ummm, yeah. I'll be right back," Jason said as he stepped back into the waiting room. There was really only one choice—Zack. He was Jason's oldest friend and he also knew of the former red ranger's feelings for Tommy. He would be the one to support Jason—the others could see their friend once he was in ICU.

Standing in the hallway outside the double security doors that led into the Recovery area, Zack and Jason talked with one of the young nurses.

"Guys, I just want to prepare you a little—your friend is not going to look like himself—his head is bandaged, he's still on a ventilator, and there are lots of tubes and wires. The important thing is he's stable—weak, but stable. The breathing tube will come out as soon as he's a little stronger. Have either of you ever seen someone directly out of surgery?"

Both boys shook their heads 'no'.

The nurse continued. "Don't let his appearance scare you, okay? Everyone looks rough in Recovery," she said, trying to keep them from getting too freaked out.

The door opened and Tommy's parents came out, Mr. Oliver supporting his wife. It was obvious both of them had been crying. They walked past the boys wordlessly and went to find somewhere to sit down.

'_Oh god, how bad is he?'_

Jason swallowed hard and tried to steady himself. He looked at Zack who reached up and took him by the shoulders.

"Come on, man. Tommy's waiting," he said in a low, soothing voice.

They slowly followed the nurse through the door and past several drawn curtains. She stopped and pulled back a curtain on the left and motioned them through. Jason suddenly felt like his legs were made of stone; he could barely lift them. He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Author's Note: As this is my first fanfic, I would really appreciate feedback. Please leave a review to let me know how I'm doing—the more reviews I get, the faster I'll update!_


	3. Bandaged, Battered, and Bruised

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** My medical expertise is a sort of Discovery Health Channel/soap opera hybrid, so remember that this is fiction and my poetic license is paid up and valid. Unfortunately, some of this also comes from personal experience. As always, please leave a review if you enjoy.

**Chapter 3—Bandaged, Battered, and Bruised**

The young man lying unconscious on the bed had clearly been through some incarnation of hell. On his head, he wore a wide bandage that obscured most of his forehead. Wires originating on his scalp and temples led to one of the many monitors, this one measuring and recording brain waves. His battered ribcage had been wrapped tight and there was another bandage on his abdomen. This one concealed the incision made by the surgeon who had repaired his internal injuries and stopped the bleeding. More wires had been attached to his chest—these were connected to an EKG, keeping track of his heart rhythms. Multiple cuts and bruises, some significant, were visible on his arms and shoulders. He had IVs in both arms which provided him with medication and hydration. But in spite of the multiple wires, tubes, bandages, and bruises elsewhere, the most heart-wrenching sight was his face.

The normally handsome face was cut, severely bruised, and swollen, especially along his left cheek and jaw. Both of his eyes were blackened. His full lips were covered by the mouthpiece of the ventilator that was breathing for him. He was almost unrecognizable—almost.

The overwrought young man standing at his bedside recognized him—it was his best friend.

"Tommy. . .oh my god." Jason's voice was raw with emotion. Tears were welling up in his midnight eyes. He just stood and stared for several moments, not knowing what else to do.

"Go ahead, touch him. It's okay," said the nurse who was watching over Tommy. She had a kind smile and her presence helped to calm Jason just a little. "The contact is good for him, even though he's still under the anesthetic."

Jason lifted a shaking hand toward his injured friend. He stroked the bruised face with his fingers as a tear spilled down his cheek. "Can he hear me?"

The nurse placed her hand on Jason's shoulder and spoke cheerfully to him. "Well, the jury's still out on that one. . .but I believe he can. I've seen patients react to their loved one's voices, even under heavy anesthetic. Go ahead and try."

Jason leaned over the bed and touched Tommy's shoulder. He stroked the side of his neck with a finger.

"Tommy, I don't know if you can hear me. . .I hope you can. I'm here, bro. I'm here and I'm not leaving." He paused and sniffled as more tears ran down his face. "Bro, please wake up soon. I need to know that you're okay. I need to look at those big eyes and see that smile." He returned to stroking Tommy's face.

"All of your friends are here. We know that you're going to be okay because you have to be. We need you, Tommy." He leaned closer and whispered very softly, his voice shaking, "_I_need you. . .because. . ." Jason was gripped with the fear that if he didn't say it now, he'd never get the chance.

He took a deep breath. ". . .because I love you, bro." Jason had never said it aloud before. It was scary, but liberating at the same time—he meant it with all his heart. He placed a light kiss on the unconscious young man's forehead.

At that moment, he didn't care if the nurse had overheard him—he just hoped Tommy had heard him. Zack stepped up to the bed and touched Tommy's arm. He said a few words to him and then turned to join Jason.

"Ma'am, how long do you think it'll be until he wakes up?" Jason asked.

"That's hard to say. The anesthetic will be wearing off pretty soon, but he's being sedated because of the pain he will no doubt be in once he does wake. And then there's the head injury to factor in." She stopped for a moment. "This is just a guess, you understand, but I'd say no sooner than tomorrow some time. Maybe longer."

"Okay. And he's going to ICU from here, right?"

"Yes. He should be settled in up there within the next hour or so."

"Thank you," Jason said and gave the nurse the warmest smile he could muster.

They walked out of the Recovery area and Jason made a bee line for the waiting room, looking for Tommy's parents. He scanned the room, but didn't see them right away.

All of their friends jumped up when they saw Jason come in because they were anxious to hear how Tommy was. Rocky and Adam were the first to reach him. They looked into his red-rimmed eyes.

"Jason, how is he?" Adam asked, his voice shaking.

The former red ranger cleared his throat and tried to speak as calmly as possible. "He's weak, but he's stable. He looks pretty bad right now, but the nurse said everybody looks rough in Recovery. Have the Olivers been back in here?"

"No, we haven't seen them," Billy answered.

"I've got to go find them. Zack, will you fill the guys in on what the nurse told us?"

"Sure, buddy. No problem," Zack said as Jason snatched up his duffle bag and went in search of Tommy's parents.

Zack related to the group what the Recovery nurse had said and told them about Tommy's condition. He tried not to sound anxious as he explained the injuries and all the wires and tubes, but his friends became wide-eyed and upset anyway, despite his best efforts.

It especially affected Adam, who was weak anyway. He sat down abruptly when he suddenly felt dizzy. He buried his face in his unbandaged hand. Rocky was right there to comfort him, rubbing his back and talking to him softly.

"We may be able to see him once he's in ICU, I don't know for sure. I'll bet that's why Jase is looking for the Olivers," Zack related.

Jason looked all over for Tommy's parents, but didn't see them anywhere. He finally got directions to the ICU Waiting Room and headed up there. Walking in, he spotted them across the room talking quietly. He didn't want to intrude, so he took a seat not too far away where they would notice him. Sinking down in the chair, his mind drifted back to the Recovery Room.

'_Tommy . . . how could this have happened to you? Why? You __**have **__to get well, bro. You just have to.'_

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Jason, are you okay?" It was Michael Oliver.

"Ummm, yeah. I guess so. How are you and Mrs. Oliver?"

He sighed. "As well as can be expected, I suppose. They said that Tommy should be moved up here soon and that we could see him again for a few minutes after that."

"Good. I hope he wakes up soon. I can't stand to see him like that."

"I know, but he's a strong boy. We have to believe that he's going to pull through."

"I do—I _know_he's going to be alright."

Once Tommy was settled into the ICU, his parents were allowed to visit him again and then Jason went in by himself. The Olivers made it clear to the staff that their son's best friend was to be treated like family—to be allowed in just like he was Tommy's brother.

When Jason saw him the second time, he actually looked a little better. Maybe he was just better prepared this time, but it helped that some of the wires were gone, replaced by less obtrusive devices. Tommy still wasn't breathing on his own, which worried Jason, but he decided to give it a few more hours before he really started freaking out.

He spoke soothingly to his bro, promising not to leave him and telling him again how much he needed him. The rest of Tommy's friends were able to see him for a very brief time, as the hospital wouldn't allow any extended visits. The girls took it the hardest, by outward appearances, but everyone knew that Adam was seriously torn up inside.

Kim desperately wanted to talk to Jason, but decided that now was not the time. He was too upset, too tired, and from what she sensed, still too mad at her. She and Trini went home with Katherine and Rocky finally convinced Adam to leave and get some rest. Billy asked Jason and Zack to stay over at his house, but Jason refused to leave. He might not be able to stay in the room with Tommy, but he was going to stay as close as he possibly could. Zack decided to stay with Jason, so Billy went home, grabbed up two sleeping bags and two pillows and brought them back to his old friends. Neither of them got much sleep, but that had little to do with the accommodations.

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for the kind reviews I have received so far! Please, keep it up! I know this chapter was a bit short, but the next few more than make up for it! Get comfortable—you're in for a long ride!_


	4. To the Precipice

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** My medical expertise is a sort of Discovery Health Channel/soap opera hybrid, so remember that this is fiction and my poetic license is paid up and valid. Unfortunately, some of this also comes from personal experience. As always, please leave a review if you enjoy.

**Chapter 4—To the Precipice**

Day 2—Sunday

The following day drug by. Jason was by Tommy's side every single minute that he was allowed to be, but there was no change in his condition. Every time Jason walked into his bro's room, he prayed that those beautiful eyes would open. The doctor ordered that the dosage of sedative be reduced, hoping that it might help the young man to wake, but to no avail. By the end of the second day, Tommy was officially declared to be comatose. He still wasn't breathing on his own and the doctors began to speculate that there might be brain damage. Tests were set up for the next day.

Jason sat alone in the ICU Waiting Room, staring out the window. He had finally been left alone by all of his and Tommy's friends and he was glad to have time to get his head together. He was tired, body and soul, and didn't see that changing any time soon. He had once again resisted well-meaning efforts to get him to leave the hospital. Jason was determined to stay right where he was.

He was still able to keep his spirits up and trust that his best friend was going to be okay, but it had been difficult this evening. First came the news that Tommy had slipped into a coma. Jason just knew that he was going to wake up today, so it had been quite a blow when Tommy's parents told him what the doctor had said. The words 'brain damage' hit him like a roundhouse to the gut. However, Jason resolved that he would not get all worked up about it—he would wait for the test results.

'_No need to worry until I know for sure there's something to worry about. Maybe Tommy's body is just taking longer to heal than they thought it would. Everyone's body is different. That doesn't mean he has brain damage."_

The other thing that had made this evening difficult was the death of one of the ICU patients. The young man and Tommy had been injured in the same attack and he was only a few years older than they were. Jason didn't know the extent of the boy's injuries, but he had gathered that they were pretty severe. Seeing the boy's family so grief-stricken was what upset him the most.

His parents, grandparents, brother and sister had all been in the waiting room when a nurse came flying in and spoke quietly with his parents. The entire family rushed out with panicked looks on their faces. Jason, Zack, Rocky, Adam, and the Olivers exchanged knowing looks. No one had to tell them what was going on through those locked doors. Margaret Oliver buried her face in her husband's neck and began to cry softly. Adam got up and rushed out with Rocky hot on his heels. Jason went to the window and stared out into the night, fervently praying that God wouldn't take Tommy from his family and friends. He had been praying a lot over the last 24 hours, the most he'd done in a long time. On one hand, he felt like a hypocrite—only praying when there was an emergency—but he figured a lot of people were like that and God would show him mercy. He had to understand how this crisis had devastated Jason.

Now he sat in that same window, wondering what the next few hours or even days would bring. The longer Tommy's condition remained unchanged or, God forbid, got worse, the harder it was going to be on his friends and family.

Family. Jason knew he needed to call his own family and let them know he was in town, but he couldn't figure out what to tell them as to how he had gotten home. They knew he didn't have the money for an airline ticket. What was he going to say? He decided to make up something believable and call them in the morning. Jason absolutely hated lying to his parents, but . . . it was part and parcel of being a ranger, or former ranger, in his case. The need for secrecy was too great and it sometimes necessitated lying.

Family. Something had been gnawing at the back of his brain all day, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. His mind had been so preoccupied and he was so tired it was a wonder he could remember anything at all. Drama between him and Kim didn't help. Seeing her again had been difficult. A very small, 'big brother' part of him wanted to hug her and try to help comfort her as she was plainly upset and very worried. However, the larger and overriding part of him was still pissed at her for causing Tommy so much heartache and the cold way in which she did it. The latter won out. He had completely bitten her head off earlier. Sitting in the window, he recalled the ugly scene.

He had been standing in a quiet hallway not too far from the ICU, staring out the windows, watching the rain come down in sheets. The gloomy weather outside matched the mood inside.

"Jason, can I talk to you?" It was Kim. He didn't even look at her.

"What?" he said in a low, stoic voice.

"I know that the last conversation we had didn't go very well and . . . I thought maybe we could try again."

"Hmphf. I thought that conversation went pretty well."

"It wasn't a conversation at all—you started by asking a bunch of questions that you didn't give me time to answer and finished by cussing me out!"

"Exactly. Went rather well . . ." he said, his voice still eerily unemotional.

Kim sighed. Clearly this approach wasn't working. She tried another.

"Okay then, how about we make up for Tommy's sake? Do you think he'd want us at each other's throats?"

"Probably not, but I don't think I'm ready to forgive and forget just yet."

Up to this point, Jason had held his temper and his tongue in check, but the anger and resentment was growing inside of him.

"Look Jason, we're all in a lot of pain right now—not just you. We _all_ love Tommy—_I _love Tommy. We need to support each other. I need your support. Do you think now is the time to be holding a grudge against me for something that has nothing to do with you?" she said with way too much attitude for Jason's liking.

It was not in his nature to be selfish or vindictive, but there was something about what she had just said, coupled with the way she had said it, that just flew all over Jason. His body stiffened and he suddenly locked his narrowed, midnight black eyes with hers. Kim was in the path of an oncoming storm and didn't even know it.

"Nothing to do with me? Is that what you think?! Who do you think was the first person he called for support? Who do you think he cried to? Yes, _cried _to! Do you know how it felt to be half a world away and be able to do nothing to help? Hell, I couldn't even hug him to try and make the pain go away! And now you say you love him and you need support because you're upset and in pain. You're giving me attitude because I won't just forgive you for what you did. Well, you know what? You brought it on yourself, dammit! What kind of coward breaks up with a man like Tommy through a lame letter? That was _so_ wrong! Every one of us knows how sensitive and fragile Tommy can be—you, of all people, should know that! And you just expect me to wrap my arms around you and tell you 'it's okay'? Well it's _not _fuckin' okay! If you want comfort, go find what's-his-name in Florida!"

"Jason, please calm down," Kim implored through her tears. He was really making a scene. His already deep voice had been reduced to a growl.

"No, I won't calm down. I'm stressed to the limit by all of this. My very best friend in the world is lying in Intensive Care in a coma and I'm powerless to do anything about it! I can't bear the thought of losing him. I haven't slept well in a month because of all these damn nightmares I've been having and now I'm _in_ one and I can't wake up! So you know what? I don't give a _fuck _that you're upset because you're feeling guilty—you _should_ feel guilty! I'm trying to keep myself from falling apart and I don't have the strength or the desire to 'make nice' with you right now!"

'I see' was all that the former pink ranger said. She turned and walked away without so much as another look.

Zack, who had been an unwitting spectator to Jason's meltdown, stepped forward with a disapproving look on his face. He couldn't remember ever having seen his old friend blow up like that. Jason usually exuded self-control.

"Damn Jase, that was kinda harsh, don'tcha think?"

Jason, who was still fuming, wheeled on Zack—his eyes were utterly black. Through gritted teeth he said, "Not now, Zack."

The former black ranger knew his friend well enough to know when to back off. He decided that the best thing for him to do was to find Kim and make sure she was okay.

After 30 minutes or so, Jason had found Zack and apologized for losing it. He made it clear, however, that he had meant what he said. He just didn't mean for it to come out like that. Zack told him that _he_ wasn't the one he should be apologizing to.

But that wasn't what was bothering him right now. He still couldn't quite pin down what had been eating at him. He sighed and sat down in the chair, staring out into the hallway. A couple of guys with long brown hair walked by the door.

'_Wow. They look almost like Tommy and Dav- . . . DAVID! That's it! Where is David? Has he been called?'_

Jason looked at his watch. Should he call the Olivers? Was it too late at night? He decided he had to take a chance for Tommy's sake. From what he had gathered from his bro, he would definitely want his brother there.

"Mrs. Oliver, I'm sorry to bother you at home."

"No, it's okay Jason."

"I was just wondering if anyone had called David. I haven't seen him up here."

"David? Oh, good gracious . . . I didn't think about that. My mind has been so focused on Tommy that I forgot to call him. But I don't think I have his number. Hold on."

She came back a couple of minutes later.

"No, I don't have it, only Tommy does. I have no idea where he'd keep it, either."

"Well, we need to notify him somehow. I'll drive out to the reservation if I have to. Tommy would want him here."

"Hopefully it won't come to that. I'll look through Tommy's things and see if I can find it."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Jason, are you okay up there? You can go home, you know. I'll call you if the hospital calls us."

"I know, but . . . I just can't leave. I'm afraid to. Besides, I feel closer to him up here."

"Well, okay. You're a good friend, Jason. See you in the morning."

"So is Tommy. He'd do the same for me. See you tomorrow."

He felt better now. Maybe he could sleep. Maybe.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Jason did manage to fall asleep after all and he slept fairly well until sometime in the early morning hours of the next day.

"Sir? Sir, please wake up."

Someone was shaking him.

"Are you part of the Oliver family? Please, sir."

"Hmmm?" he groaned, half awake.

"Are you part of the Oliver family?"

She sounded upset. Jason tried to wake himself, but he was sooo tired.

"Sir, please! I need you to listen to me!"

"Okay, sorry. What?" he said sleepily.

"Are you an Oliver?"

"No . . . I'm Tommy Oliver's best friend."

He finally woke up enough to realize that something must be wrong.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!"

He scrambled to his feet.

"Come with me!" She walked quickly toward the ICU doors and started through with Jason right behind her.

"His parents aren't here—call them," she said to the nurse behind the desk.

"What's going on, ma'am?" Jason asked, hoping it was good news.

'_Maybe he woke up! Oh, I hope so!'_

She stopped and looked at him solemnly.

"He's taken a turn for the worst, I'm afraid. You're the only family here, so I'm letting you in now. His parents are being called."

Jason felt like he was suffocating. His eyes grew wide—he couldn't speak—he couldn't think.

"Go ahead in, please."

He walked into Tommy's room—fear was enveloping him—he couldn't breathe. Lights were flashing on the monitors—alarms were going off—a nurse was giving Tommy an injection—he kept hearing the word STAT . . .

Tommy was lying there looking pretty much the same as he had hours earlier when Jason had visited him last, except he looked very pale and sweaty.

"What's wrong? What happened?!" Jason asked, desperate for answers.

A nurse turned to him and said quickly, "We're not sure—he just started crashing. Doctor's on his way."

Jason looked at the monitors. He didn't know how to interpret some of the readings, but he could tell from the blood pressure and pulse readings that Tommy was in trouble. The numbers had been low ever since he had gotten out of surgery, but now they were dropping—dangerously low.

Moments later, it got even worse. For no apparent reason, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat became irregular—the readout on the EKG went erratic.

'_Oh God, no! No!' _

Jason didn't know exactly what was happening, but he knew it was bad—really bad. His legs got weak—he felt like he was going to pass out. A nurse took him by the shoulders and guided him toward the door. He needed to get out of their way. More alarms were going off—people were running toward him from every direction. He could hear bits and pieces of what was being said in there.

"I don't know . . ." "Arrhythmia . . ." "Where's that doctor?!" "Another emergency . . ."

"Is he having a heart attack?" he asked the nurse in a panic.

"No, it's called an arrhythmia."

"How serious is that?!"

"Very serious, I'm afraid. The rhythm of his heart has been interrupted for some reason—it's not beating properly. They'll use a defibrillator to try to correct it," she said to him, trying to soothe him as much as possible.

He knew from the equipment that was being rushed into the room that they were going to shock him to try to get his heart beating properly again. He closed his teary eyes and pleaded with God not to take Tommy from him. The moments seemed like hours.

"Clear . . ." He could hear the machine deliver a jolt of electricity through Tommy's body.

"Again . . . Clear" The tech applied the paddles to the correct positions and the defibrillator delivered another shock. Jason couldn't see into the room, but he could hear what was happening. He knew exactly when the jolts hit Tommy.

He must have swayed like he was going to hit the floor, because the nurse who was with him grabbed him suddenly.

"Are you okay?" She looked very concerned.

Jason's eyes snapped open.

"Umm, yeah. Don't worry about me—what about Tommy?"

"They're still working on him," she said and took a couple of steps toward the door.

A few seconds later, someone in the room said, "That's got it—regular rhythm reestablished."

Some of the equipment was being removed and the panic seemed to have subsided a bit. She motioned for Jason to come into the room.

"He's beginning to stabilize," the nurse told him as Tommy was given another injection. Within 30 seconds or so, the readings climbed a bit. They backed off and motioned for Jason to go to him, which he did . . . cautiously. Taking Tommy's hand, he leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"Tommy—don't you dare leave me," he choked as the tears started again. He rubbed his bro's hair with his other hand.

"I need you—all of us need you—please, bro," He stroked his face and sobbed.

"You've got to fight, Tommy. You just have to. Come back to me." Tears streamed down his cheeks and he paused for a moment.

"We love you and need you. Don't leave us, please!"

He leaned closer to his ear. "I love you, Tommy Oliver and I want to look into your eyes and tell you that. You have to wake up."

The doctor came rushing in so the nurse took Jason by the arm and coaxed him backwards away from the bed. Doctor Jennings checked the readings on the monitors, the printouts from the EEG and EKG, and studied his chart. He conversed with several of the nurses. While all this was going on, Jason never took his eyes off of Tommy. His color looked a little better and his vitals were slowly getting closer to normal, but he was by no means out of the woods. The nurse next to Jason rubbed his back soothingly and tried to calm him.

Mr. and Mrs. Oliver came rushing into the room looking panicked. The doctor talked to them and said that Tommy had had a very close call, but he was stabilizing for now. Dr. Jennings said that he would be analyzing the readouts and would try to let them know something by morning.

Jason didn't want to leave, but something told him to give Tommy's parents some time with their son. Before leaving though, he ran his hand over Tommy's cheek again and placed another gentle kiss on his forehead.

"We all love you, bro. Please come back to us."

As the tears began again, he walked slowly out of the room, pausing at the door to look at his bro again—in case it was the last time.

________________________________________________________________________________

Walking back into the waiting room, he dug into his duffle bag and pulled out a picture of Tommy—the same one he had shown to Jacques. He went outside to the nice little rooftop garden where he had spent lots of time lately. Putting his communicator to his lips, he pressed the button and called Zack's name. No response. He called again.

'_Come on, Zack. I need you!'_

Finally, he heard the sleepy voice of the former black ranger.

"Yeah? This is Zack."

"Man, I'm sorry to wake you. I really am . . ." his voice broke. Zack could hear the pain in his words.

"Jase? What is it?"

"I need you, Zack," he gasped. "We nearly lost Tommy . . ." He said it so low that Zack almost didn't hear him. "He nearly died."

"Hold on, Jase. I'm on my way. Where are you?"

"Hospital garden."

"Okay."

Jason looked at the picture in his hand and then clutched it to his heart. He said another prayer. Tears were welling up in his eyes again as he prayed that the life of his best friend would be spared.

'_God, please don't take him from me. I need him so much. He's part of me—I'll die without him. Please spare him. Don't take Tommy from us. Please—I beg you.'_

Jason felt a hand on his back. He turned to see Zack standing there, his face full of compassion and worry. Jason just looked at him—he didn't know where to begin. Zack sat down beside him and put an arm around his shoulders, not knowing what to say.

"He nearly _died_, Zack. He was so . . . so pale. Oh god . . ."

The dam that was holding back his emotions had been filling for days and it suddenly burst. Jason completely broke down, hugging Zack and clutching that picture. He cried like his heart was broken in a thousand pieces. His body was racked with sobs as all the pain came flowing out of him. Zack just held onto his old friend and rubbed his back.

"Let it out, man. Just let it go."

Jason continued to cry for several minutes, managing only a few words which came in ragged bursts.

"He can't die, Zack. I need him. I love him."

"I know, Jase . . . I know."

Zack was crying too and holding Jason tight in his arms. Inside the hospital, the other rangers had all assembled. Being that the comm. link isn't a private channel, everyone who was awake heard what Jason had said to Zack. The others were awakened and they all started showing up one by one. Most of them looked out of the windows into the garden where they could see Jason being held by Zack. None of them dared intrude—it was obvious that Jason had finally broken down and that was not the kind of thing you barged in on. The girls, of course, were all crying as they watched the scene in the garden. Adam was shaking badly and looking as if he might have a breakdown of his own. Rocky was right there, though, and he put an arm around his best friend and led him away to find a seat.

Mr. and Mrs. Oliver came out of the ICU and started down the hall. They stopped when they realized that all of Tommy's friends were there and looking very upset.

"How is Tommy?" Billy asked.

Mr. Oliver sighed. "He had a _very_ close call. He's stable for now, but he's not out of the woods. The doctor has ordered several tests for first thing in the morning. We should know more then."

Mrs. Oliver looked at all of them and asked, "How did you all know Tommy was in trouble?"

They pointed out to the garden and Mrs. Oliver looked to see Jason and Zack.

"Oh, I see. Poor Jason—he's really taking this hard."

"Well, Tommy _is_ his best friend. There's one helluva bond between them," Adam said as he walked over to Tommy's parents. Adam didn't have to have been around them for years like Billy, Zack, or Kim. It was obvious.

"Tommy is very lucky to have so many great friends," Margaret Oliver said and she smiled weakly at them all.

Eventually, they all ended up back in the ICU Waiting Room. No one slept much—a little catnap here and there—but everyone was too upset and worried to really get any rest. Jason sat in his window, the picture of Tommy still in his hand, staring blankly into the night. He wouldn't speak to anyone or even acknowledge their presence. He was lost in his own little world of fear and hope, worry and prayer, sweet memories and the bitter realization that it could all be over at any moment. From time to time, the tears would start again, but he paid them no notice. The night slowly turned into day.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Author's Note: Again, thank you for the few reviews that I've received. They really help me to know that I'm on the right track. A quick little note is all I need to keep me happy and working. Thanks especially to Morphin' in for the encouragement! I appreciate it! _


	5. Grim Prognosis

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** My medical expertise is a sort of Discovery Health Channel/soap opera hybrid, so remember that this is fiction and my poetic license is paid up and valid. Unfortunately, some of this also comes from personal experience. As always, please leave a review if you enjoy.

**Chapter 5—Grim Prognosis**

Day 3—Monday

His parents, Jason, and a few others were allowed to see Tommy during the 7:15 visiting period. Thankfully, he looked better than he had during the early morning scare. His color was better, anyway. The nurses were preparing him for more tests—the first ones had begun shortly after he had stabilized. Hopefully, the doctors would have some answers soon. Everyone just hoped and prayed for good news.

Adam, Rocky, Katherine, and Tanya left to attempt the school day right after visiting with Tommy. They knew it was going to be difficult to concentrate, but they had to at least try. That left Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini, and Kim to try to get through the next few hours until the results of the tests were known. Even for five people who had been friends for such a long time, conversation was nearly impossible. Jason and Kim hadn't so much as looked at each other since their argument, so there was no hope of reconciliation there. Not now, anyway. Zack seemed to be the only person that Jason responded to, so the two girls and Billy wandered off on their own.

Jason, who was still pretty much unresponsive, was finally convinced by Zack to leave the waiting room and get something to eat. While they were in the canteen, the doctor had a meeting with Tommy's parents. On their return, the boys were called over by Mr. Oliver. He wore a blank look that masked his emotions—he was trying to be strong for his wife. Mrs. Oliver was crying softly and looked like she had been for some time. Jason felt that knot in the pit of his stomach again.

'_It's bad news. Oh god . . .'_

Jason took a few shaky breaths as he walked behind Tommy's dad. Zack knew that his friend no longer had the mental or physical strength to steady himself, so he placed a strong arm around his shoulders. With one look he let him know that he was there for him and always would be.

"Boys, there's no easy way to say this," Mr. Oliver began when they were all seated in a quiet corner. "The doctors have given us some bad news. Tommy's brain wave activity is decreasing at an alarming rate. His body is getting weaker—they're having to fight to keep his blood pressure and pulse rate up. They can find no real reason for it, but if it continues . . ." he took a slow breath, "Tommy will be brain dead within 3 days. The machines and drugs can keep his body alive indefinitely, but there'll be no chance of recovery."

Jason gasped, wide-eyed. "No . . . Oh god, no," he managed to say.

Horrible thoughts ran through his mind: Tommy's parents having to make the decision whether or not to 'pull the plug' on their only son--images of them all standing around his bed as the doctor turned the machines off . . .

'_So much pain . . .'_

"There's no hope? Nothing we can do?"

"Well, the neurologist says that stimulating him might help. They have studied the printouts from the EEG and there is evidence that his brain activity increases during the visiting periods when he's being talked to and touched."

"He _can _hear us—I knew it," Jason said, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"It's just a theory. There are no guarantees, but we have nothing else to go on. The other news is, the tests don't show much _significant_ brain damage."

Zack latched onto something he said. "Significant? So there is _some_ damage?"

Michael Oliver sighed once more. "Yes, there is some. How it's going to affect him won't be known until after he wakes up, so we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. The doctor is fairly certain that it's not what's causing his decline, though. The bottom line is, they just aren't sure. Now, here's the plan: We will set up nearly round-the-clock shifts where someone will be with him—talking to him, reading to him, hell . . . singing to him, whatever. Touch him—rub his arms and shoulders, touch his face, stroke his hair—just let Tommy know you're there. We can use all the help we can get--any of your friends that might be available."

"That won't be a problem. I'm sure all of us will gladly volunteer," Jason said, knowing they were going to have a difficult time getting him to leave.

"The ICU will be open to us for the majority of the day—except for 8-10 hours at night. And that may change too. It just depends on how he responds. The doctor said he's seen this work before, so we have to hope it'll work for Tommy."

"When do we start?" There was a hint of hope in Jason's voice that hadn't been there since before Tommy's close call. Even though there was no guarantee that this would work, at least they'd be doing _something_. And action always felt better . . .

"As soon as possible," Mr. Oliver responded. "His mother and I will take the first two shifts, and then, Jason, do you want the next one?"

"Absolutely. Zack and I will talk to the others about a schedule. Hour-long shifts?"

"Yeah. Hour to hour and a half."

"Okay. We can all manage that," Zack said.

____________________________________________________________________________

Jason and Zack used their communicators to arrange a meeting between all of their friends for 3:15 to break the news of the diagnosis and explain the course of action. In the meantime, Zack told Jason in no uncertain terms that he _had_ to go home to 1) Tell his parents that he was in town and why, and 2) Take a shower.

"It's been days now, Jase, and as much as I love you . . . you need to shower and shave."

The former red ranger did as Zack ordered, although he really didn't want to leave the hospital. Zack drove him home and they formulated a plan as they went.

"Jason?? What are you . . . What happened? Are you okay?" Theresa Scott said after finding her disheveled-looking son on her doorstep. Jason's house key was safe on his key ring, hanging on a hook . . . in Switzerland.

"Mom, calm down. I'm okay," he said, hugging her and walking into his house.

The Scotts' dog, Pookie, came running out of the living room at the sound of Jason's voice. The little Poodle/Maltese mix was so excited to see him that he danced around on his back legs until Jason bent down to pick him up, hugging him and stroking his curly white hair.

"Hey, fluff butt. I missed you, too," Jason said as the excited pooch licked his face.

He went into the kitchen and sat down at the table, looking for all the world like he'd walked home from Switzerland. His mom and Zack joined him at the table and he began to explain.

"Mom, it's Tommy. He's in Intensive Care at Memorial."

Mrs. Scott's mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wide. "Oh no, baby. What happened?"

Jason started with the phone call he had gotten in the middle of the night and told her about the accident. She looked as if she was going to cry any minute. He said that he had gotten home by borrowing the money for an airline ticket and he also told her, in no uncertain terms, that he didn't know when or if he was going back. That would depend on Tommy.

Zack talked with her while Jason cleaned up and grabbed some clean clothes. Mrs. Scott put together a care package for him and pressed some money into his hand when he came back downstairs.

"Mom . . . ummm, is that _my_ room up there, or are you getting ready to take in boarders?" he asked when he saw her in the kitchen.

"It was supposed to be a surprise, Jason. Your father just finished it last week and we were going to present it to you when you came home for Christmas. Oh well . . . I hope you like it!"

Stephen Scott had remodeled and expanded his son's bedroom, taking up the empty space over the garage. Jason now had a much larger room and a small bathroom all his own.

"It's incredible--I can't wait to look it over real well. Right now, though, I really need to get back to the hospital."

"I understand. Your father and I will be up there this evening, okay?" She kissed both her son and Zack and asked the former black ranger to watch out for Jason. He looked awful.

Jason's mom was the epitome of a world-class mother. She loved her son more than life itself, but could be tough when necessary. She wanted him to be happy, healthy, and safe—those were most important. She understood the bond between Jason and Tommy; that's why she didn't balk at the idea of him not going back to Switzerland. After all, the Scotts thought of Tommy as a second son.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Back at the hospital, Jason and Zack talked to all of their friends about Tommy's condition and the plan to help him pull through. It took both of them, because Jason would start and then he would be overcome and unable to continue, so Zack would have to carry on until Jason got his emotions under control again.

The words "brain dead" hit the group like a shock wave. No one could believe that their strong, vivacious friend and leader could be that close to death. Sure, as rangers—current or former—they were used to fighting evil and placing their lives in each other's hands all the time. None of them had ever come this close to dying before. They were typical teenagers coming to grips with the reality that they weren't invincible. The power they had been entrusted with could help protect them, but it didn't make them immortal.

Jason renewed his conversation with Billy concerning the capabilities of the medical bay vs. what the hospital could do for Tommy. He said that he'd have a discussion with Zordon and Alpha and get back to him.

They all agreed on a schedule that would allow the current rangers to attend school and have someone to cover them should Mondo decide to attack. The others would be around to take as many shifts as needed. Kimberly sat quietly, listening to all these plans and finally decided that she had to speak.

"Guys, I have to say something. I know there are some hard feelings toward me concerning the end of mine and Tommy's relationship." Try as she might, she couldn't help glancing in Jason's direction—he wouldn't look at her. "But deep down you all know that I loved Tommy with all my heart—I still love him. I did what I thought was best for both of us. He didn't understand that and I know some of you didn't either. But believe me, it is killing me to see him like this." She paused and wiped the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

"He was my first love and he will always have a special place in my heart, but there's nothing I can do for him. Jason and Zack, you said that he needs to hear the voices of his friends and family—I'm neither. I'm afraid that the sound of my voice may do more harm than good. That's why I'm going back to Florida."

Trini shook her head 'no' and tried to talk her out of it, but her mind was made up. She said that she wanted to be kept up to date with what was happening and, of course, if anything unspeakable happened she would come back, but she didn't feel like she had a purpose or a place there right now.

Some of the others asked her to stay, but there was no changing her mind. She said her goodbyes to everyone—she even touched Jason on the shoulder but he gave her no response—and she was gone.

Jase was unfazed by her departure. As far as he was concerned, that door was closed. He walked out into the hallway and began to mentally prepare himself for his first long visit with Tommy. Finding things to talk about wouldn't be a problem—keeping his emotions in check would be.

______________________________________________________________________________

He walked into the brightly lit room and sat down in the chair next to the bed. Tommy looked exactly the same as he had for the past two days except some of the bruises were beginning to change color a bit. Jason picked up Tommy's limp hand and kissed his forehead.

"Hey bro, it's me. You had us really worried early this morning. Don't you do that to me again, okay? So I'm just going to sit here and talk to you for a while . . ." He rubbed Tommy's arm and interlaced their fingers.

"I've been telling my roommate in Switzerland about you. Remember him? His name is Jacques Bergeron—he's from Quebec. You'd like him—he's funny, very smart, and a real prankster—just like you. He wants to meet you, by the way." Jason stroked Tommy's shoulders and ran his hand across his tightly bound chest.

"I'll be so glad when you get off that ventilator and wake up. I want to see that beautiful smile of yours! Oh and guess what?—I've decided that I'm not going back to Switzerland. I'm staying right here in Angel Grove with you. I've missed you so much, bro. I really think it was a mistake for me to go in the first place. I've enjoyed the experience and meeting people our age from all over the world, but . . . now I just want to stay here. With you."

Jason looked up to see if the nurse was listening to him. She was close by in case she was needed, but kept her distance out of respect.

"Tommy, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time and I've been too afraid to. I've been worried that you wouldn't understand—that you'd push me away if you knew the truth. And worst of all, that I would lose your friendship. But now, I realize that I _have_ to tell you." He paused, collecting his thoughts.

"I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way my feelings for you went beyond friendship—beyond brotherhood even. When I realized what was happening, I tried to ignore those feelings, push them away, tell myself that I was wrong. But the feelings didn't go away—they got stronger—to the point that I couldn't stand to be here anymore and watch you with . . . Kim. So I took the opportunity to go to Switzerland.

Like I said, part of me really enjoyed the Peace Conference, but another part ached so bad to be with you that all the phone calls and emails in the world couldn't soothe it." He took a deep breath and stroked the unconscious young man's face.

"Tommy, I love you . . . so much that it hurts. You've got to wake up—you've got to get well—I need you . . . more than you'll ever know. And I have to tell you all of this when your eyes are open. Please fight, Tommy . . . If I were to lose you it would kill me." He stopped himself from going down that avenue. He was getting upset and he needed to keep this upbeat.

Jason changed the subject and starting recalling some of the good times they'd had together. That wasn't hard, there had been so many. Before he knew it, his hour was up and Zack came in next to sit with Tommy. Before he left though, he caressed his bro's face and stroked his hair again. He kissed him a couple of times and whispered, "I'm not leaving you—ever again."

____________________________________________________________________________

Going back into the waiting room, he saw Adam and Rocky who were taking the next shifts after Zack.

"How'd it go, Jason?" Adam asked.

"Fine. The time flew by. I hope you guys like to talk." He obviously didn't know Rocky very well. "Just remember—you need to touch him too. The extra stimulation will help. Hold his hand, touch his face, whatever . . . Okay?" Jason looked at them seriously. He knew a lot of guys weren't the 'touchy-feely' types, but this was important.

"Okay. We understand," they assured him.

"Good. We've all got to do anything we can to pull him through this," Jason added.

"Absolutely," Adam answered.

"Whatever we can do," Rocky said.

Jason didn't know these two well, but he was very glad to see that these new friends of Tommy's were as loyal as the old gang.

He excused himself to go and find Tommy's mother—he wanted to ask about David. He eventually caught up with her and Mr. Oliver in the canteen.

"Hi. How are you both?" Jason asked.

Margaret Oliver sighed. "About as well as can be expected, I guess. Tired." Michael Oliver nodded in agreement.

"I understand that. The floor of the waiting room is seriously hard—even with the air mattress Zack brought me."

"Jason, why don't you go home tonight? A good night's sleep would do you good—you must be exhausted," Mrs. Oliver said.

"It wouldn't help—I wouldn't be able to sleep. I have to stay here, close to Tommy." He looked at both of them. "I'll go home when he wakes up and I know he's going to be okay."

They all knew that there was a real possibility that that wasn't going to happen, but no one wanted to voice their fears just now.

"Oh, Mrs. Oliver, were you able to find a phone number for David? His brother really needs to know what's going on."

"No, I looked everywhere I thought it might be, but no luck."

"Would you let Adam or Zack come over and look through Tommy's things? They might be able to find something."

"Let me look again tonight. I'll let you know tomorrow."

"Okay. Well, I guess I'll go back upstairs. I'll see you a little later." Jason took the snack he'd bought and headed for the elevators.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the evening went by slowly with Kat, Tanya, Billy, Tommy's parents, and even Jason's parents taking turns sitting with Tommy. Jason took two more turns himself. He talked to his bro about things they'd done, battles they'd won, and some of the many pranks they'd pulled on their teammates.

As the third day of this ordeal came to an end, the former red ranger settled onto his sleeping bag/air mattress to try, against the odds, to get some sleep. He pulled out his picture again. His mind reran images from the memories which he had been sharing with Tommy. He couldn't help but smile. Even thought there was no change in his condition, Jason felt a little more hopeful. He soon fell asleep, still holding the picture of the man he loved.

_________________________________________________________________________________

_Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews! It means a lot to me. Please keep it up! It would seem that this story has been tugging at a few heartstrings. That's the idea, but for everyone out there that's hurting for Jason and/or Tommy--hang in there. Your patience will be rewarded . . . but I'm not giving anything away!_


	6. Brothers of the Blood

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Chapter 6****—Brothers of the Blood and Brothers of the Spirit**

Day 4—Tuesday

The sun shining through the waiting room's large windows woke Jason about 6:30. As had become his habit over the last few surreal days, he rolled up his bed and stashed it under a lamp table in the corner. He then grabbed his toiletry kit from his bag and went into the small restroom to brush his teeth and comb his hair. On his exit, he found Tommy's parents sitting by the door, waiting for the next round of shifts to start.

"Morning," he said sleepily. He had slept a little better last night, only waking up 2 or 3 times, but still a long way from what you'd call a decent night's sleep. Jason had almost forgotten what that felt like.

"G'morning Jason," Michael Oliver said, sounding very tired. This whole ordeal was really taking its toll on Tommy's family and friends.

"Mrs. Oliver, how goes the search for David's number?" Jason asked.

"No luck," was all she said. Jason knew she was tired and upset over Tommy, but there was something about her tone that led him to believe that there was more to it than that.

"I see. Okay, well . . . ummm . . ." He left it at that. She wasn't offering a solution and didn't seem upset by the situation at all. He couldn't believe she was being so callous--Tommy's birth family had no idea that he was in such bad shape. Jason decided that he'd handle it another way, but he'd have to talk to the guys.

The hour-long shifts continued and, happily, the morning and early afternoon went by with no close calls or emergencies. The doctors wouldn't commit by saying anything, but Jason thought that Tommy looked better. His vital signs certainly seemed stronger. He didn't mention it to anyone, in case it was just wishful thinking on his part, but he just had the feeling that they were getting through to Tommy.

When Rocky and Adam arrived after school, Jason had some questions and an assignment for the blue and green zeo rangers.

"You two have been close to Tommy lately, right? Been to his house and stuff?"

"Yeah," they both answered.

"Do you have any idea where he would keep important phone numbers?"

Adam and Rocky thought for several moments, but neither could remember Tommy having a "little black book" or any other kind of address book.

"I'm afraid not, Jase. Why?" Adam asked.

"Because his brother David has no idea he's in the hospital and I want to let him know."

"Shouldn't Tommy's mother have the number?" Rocky wondered aloud.

"I've asked her twice—I'm not going to again. She says she's looked and can't find it." He paused not knowing if he should voice his suspicions. "She's too stressed right now to be bothered with that," he said instead.

They nodded their heads in agreement.

"So here's the plan: While his parents are here, one or both of you transport yourselves into Tommy's bedroom and look for the number."

"Can we do that—_should_ we do that, Jason?" Rocky wasn't sure.

"Look, I can think of no other way. His parents are either unable . . . or unwilling to find David's number. You _know_ how much his brother has come to mean to Tommy—David has a right to know."

"I agree. We'll definitely give it a try," Adam promised.

"Right. Just don't get caught, okay?" Jason added.

The green and blue Zeo rangers went off on their covert mission immediately as Tommy's parents were due at the hospital at any moment.

Zack was sitting with Tommy, so Jason made small talk with Billy and Kat while keeping an eye peeled for the others' return. About twenty minutes later, they showed up out in the hallway and motioned for Jason to join them.

"No luck, man. We tore that room apart—figuratively speaking. Tommy has some, uh . . . 'interesting' stuff stashed in there, but no phone numbers that we could find," Rocky reported.

"I even looked through his backpack and notebooks from school, but nothin'." Adam had tried his best.

"Let's not tell Tommy that we've looked under his bed and been through his underwear drawer, okay?" Rocky added.

Even Jason had to grin at that. "Okay, deal—but that leaves only one thing to do, then," he said. They looked at him questioningly, wondering what sort of plan he was hatching.

"We're going to have to go to the reservation and find him. Can't be that hard—it's not that big of a place."

"Think it's possible?" Rocky asked.

"Sure. We know he lives on the rez, his name is David Trueheart, and from what I've seen, he looks just like Tommy. How hard could it be?" Jason stated, sure that they could pull this off.

Adam thought for a minute and knew that this was the only way. "Who do you propose should go?"

"I'll go—it's my idea," Jason said.

"Then I'll go with you," Adam decided. "Rocky, you take your regular shift and we'll get someone to cover mine."

They arranged for everything to be covered and the friends that were staying were instructed to let Jason know by communicator if he was needed. They were also warned not to tell Tommy's parents what they were up to.

"In case I can't find him, I don't want them to be concerned," he had lied. There was an issue there between Tommy's birth family and his adopted family.

'_I'll have to figure all that out later,'_ he told himself.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

­They both jumped in Adam's jeep and set out on their quest. Jason drove because Adam's arm and shoulder were still bandaged. The rez was only about an hour outside of Angel Grove; Jason had been by there many times on his way to the camping grounds that lay beyond. While they drove, the new friends talked a little. Jason noticed that Adam seemed abnormally reserved—Tommy had told him that Adam was outgoing and friendly.

"Adam, you're not still blaming yourself for Tommy's injuries, are you?"

The green zeo ranger sighed. "I guess part of me is, yeah."

Jason shook his head. "It's not your fault."

"I know—that's what everyone keeps telling me, but . . . I'll just feel better when Tommy is awake and getting well."

"Everyone will, Adam, believe me."

"Jason, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Is Tommy really as fearless and sure of himself as he seems? Has he always been like that? I mean, the way he saved me . . ."

Jason smiled broadly. "Tommy is a very complex person, Adam. Most of us are, I guess. As your commander—yes, Tommy is as fearless and brave as they come. He's smart, quick-thinking, and clever. Almost devious. That's what makes him a great leader. I felt completely comfortable leaving the ranger team in his hands when I left for Switzerland."

Adam was listening with rapt attention.

Jason grinned. "But to answer your question, no--he hasn't always been that way, not exactly. He's always possessed those traits—that's what made him a ranger to begin with. He's just had some self-confidence issues in the past. He still does—they're just not ranger-related anymore. I've seen him at the highest of highs and the lowest of lows—and everywhere in between. But he's one of the finest people I've ever known—fierce, loyal, loving, kind, smart, funny . . . he's like a brother to me." Jason realized he was gushing and thought he'd better shut up before he gave himself away.

Adam had noticed how Jason's demeanour changed when he talked about Tommy. "It's so cool that you guys are that close."

"You and Rocky are like that too, aren't you? You seem to be."

"Well yeah, but we grew up together. You said Tommy has self-confidence issues? Why? What on earth does he have to be self-conscious about?"

"Everyone has issues of some sort, Adam. You know that."

"Yeah, but Tommy is one of the most together people I know—I don't know what would cause him to have issues. He's popular, he's accomplished a lot in his life, he's good-looking . . . he's just cool. I don't get it."

"He's come a long way since he moved to Angel Grove. He was shy and pretty much a loner when he came here. I think there may be some stuff in his past, but he won't talk about it—not even to me."

"Wow, then I know he won't tell me."

Jason couldn't resist the question. "So, you think Tommy's good-looking, huh?" He shot a grin at the green zeo ranger.

Adam tried to hedge, but there was no point—Jason had him. "Ummm, yeah, I do. I'm secure enough with myself to say what I think about someone—male or female. I think you're good-looking too."

The former red ranger turned to look at him. Adam had turned the tables on him. "Uhhh, thanks," he said, almost shyly.

'_Is he blushing?'_ Adam wondered.

They continued to talk about friends and what had been going on lately with the fight against Mondo. Before they realized it, they had arrived at the reservation and began driving slowly, trying to figure out who to ask for help. They came upon a corner store—a sort of 'Mom and Pop' grocery store sorta thing—and decided to give it a chance. Parking and going inside, they approached the middle-aged man behind the counter.

"Excuse me, sir. My friend and I are looking for someone—I wonder if you could help," Jason asked politely.

"I'll try. Who is it?" the man replied, seeming a bit cautious.

"His name is David Trueheart."

He nodded. "I know him. What do you want with David?"

"Sir . . . hmmm, this is complicated . . . David is the brother of my best friend, Tommy." Jason pulled out the picture of David and Tommy from his back pocket. Pointing, he said, "That's Tommy."

The man looked at the picture, clearly recognizing at least one of the young men.

Jason continued. "He's been badly hurt and is in Intensive Care at Angel Grove Memorial. We couldn't find a phone number for David among Tommy's things, so my friend and I drove out here to let him know. Can you please tell us where we might find him?"

The older man looked into Jason's face and decided that he could trust him. "Yes. David and Sam Trueheart live on a ranch about 5 miles from here. Just take this main street out here straight ahead and you'll see the house and horse pastures on the left."

Jason smiled, relieved. "Thank you so much, sir. We really appreciate it."

"You're welcome." He looked at Jason intently, reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know little Tommy will be okay—his spirit is strong."

Tommy's best friend looked at him soberly. "I hope you're right, sir. He's important to a lot of people."

'_Little Tommy'?_

_________________________________________________________________________________________

They drove down the main street and, just like the man had said, there was the house with the horse pastures around it. They drove up the long gravel driveway to the old, ranch-style home and parked. As they got out of the jeep, they looked around at the modest, but well-kept house and grounds. It was a blue wooden house with dark blue shutters and old, well-used rocking chairs on the porch. Several paints and appaloosas grazed in the nearby pasture.

"Nice place—homey," Adam said as he and Jason climbed the low steps up to the porch. The main door was open, so they knocked on the wooden screen door.

A male voice called from inside, "Coming. Just a minute."

A few moments later, Jason's eyes widened as he saw someone who looked just like Tommy walking toward the door, wiping his hands on a dish towel. He opened the screen door a bit. "Yes?"

"Umm, you must be David," Jason said, still amazed at the resemblance.

"Yeah. Do I know you?" David asked. Jason did look a little familiar. He then looked harder at Adam. "Adam? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Hi David," Adam responded.

"What happened to you?" David asked, concerned.

"Ummm, David, this is Jason Scott, Tommy's best friend," Adam said, avoiding the question for the moment.

"Oh, you're the one that's been in Switzerland, right?" David asked and shook his hand.

"Yes, that's me." Jason paused and took a deep breath. He hated to tell him this. "David, I have some bad news. Can we sit down?"

David's face suddenly became serious. "Sure, come inside," he said as he ushered them into the living room. The inside of the house was much like the outside—modest, lived-in, but well-kept and comfortable. It was apparent from the furnishings and wall hangings that David and Sam were very proud of their heritage, as they should be.

David looked intently at Jason and Adam, "What's wrong? It's not Tommy, is it?"

Jason looked at him sadly, "I'm afraid so. There was an attack a few days ago and Tommy and Adam here were trapped in a building when it collapsed. Tommy is in Intensive Care at Angel Grove Memorial."

David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "How is he?"

"He's not doing too well, David. He's listed as 'critical'. The doctors are doing everything they can, but . . . "

Jason explained about the close call, the tests, the grim prognosis and what they were all doing to try and help Tommy pull through. He also explained why they hadn't called and why they had to come out there to find him.

David had laid his head in his hands while Jason was explaining—he was clearly floored by all this and very upset. When Jason finished, David stood up quickly and said that he was going to get Sam and he'd be right back. Adam and Jason sat together on the couch, looking at each other and at the many pictures on the wall. Jason spotted one of Tommy, David, and Sam standing together outside of that very house. He also saw one of a young couple with two small children that he thought might be Tommy's birth family. He got up to take a closer look, but never made it over to the wall. David came bursting in the door with Sam close behind.

"Let's go. Follow us," David said as he hurried back out of the house and towards his car. Sam took a moment to introduce himself to Jason and Adam. He had a very kind, wise-looking face—Jason liked him immediately. They got into their respective cars and started toward Angel Grove.

Mission Accomplished.

_______________________________________________________________________________

The two cars reached Angel Grove Memorial in about 45 minutes. The four men went quickly inside and headed directly to the ICU. Jason went to the waiting room to find out who was in with Tommy at the moment. Anyone but the Olivers could be unceremoniously kicked out to let Sam and David in. Turns out that Billy was taking this shift and Tommy's parents weren't around at the moment.

'_So much the better,'_ thought Jason.

He, David, and Sam entered the security doors and walked down the hallway to Tommy's room. Jason walked in first and asked Billy to excuse them. The former blue ranger got up and walked out, warmly greeting Tommy's brother and great uncle. He left to give them some time.

David and Sam walked in slowly and stopped at the foot of the bed. The pain and fear in David's big brown eyes, which were very reminiscent of Tommy's, was obvious. They took a seat on either side of him and held his limp, cool hands. Jason stayed back out of the way and just watched. This was the first time he had ever seen Tommy and his brother together.

'_God, why does it have to be like this?'_

Tommy had told Jason of his plans to get his 'bro' and his 'real' brother together when he came home on his next visit. Tommy was so looking forward to the two of them meeting.

'_It's not supposed to happen like this.'_

A tear rolled down Jason's handsome face. David was talking to Tommy in quiet, soothing tones. Sam seemed to be chanting something in low tones while placing his old, weathered hands on Tommy's forehead and then on his battered chest. Jason suddenly remembered something that Tommy had told him about Sam—he was a shaman, a medicine man.

'_Maybe he can do something that all this high-powered technology can't. It's worth a try.'_

David began helping Sam with whatever it was that he was doing—repeating the words after him, holding the side of Tommy's head with one hand and running the other hand down his chest. Sam took a long necklace from around his neck, coiled it up and placed it over Tommy's heart. The old man was concentrating very intently on what he was doing—chanting in low tones the entire time. He pulled back the covers to expose Tommy's abdomen and he very carefully laid a hand on the bandage that covered his incision.

After several more minutes, during which Tommy's nurse stepped in and watched quietly, Sam was finished. He took his seat next to the bed and started talking to Tommy. Jason had to smile when he called him 'little Tommy' just like the shopkeeper had done. He also called him 'Falcon', referring to his animal spirit.

The former red ranger decided that he would leave and give them some family time alone. He told Sam and David to stay as long as they liked, that he would be in the waiting room and he slipped out quietly. The nurse caught him in the hallway and asked who Tommy's visitors were. Jason explained that that was what remained of his birth family. She seemed quite intrigued by Sam.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Thirty or forty minutes later, Sam and David came into the waiting room looking for Jason. He had been talking to Kat and Trini and he jumped up when they entered the room.

"Jason, we owe you an enormous debt for coming to get us today. We never would have known that anything had happened to Tommy if not for you," Sam said.

"Yes, thank you. What Tommy has told me about you seems to be true—you are a good and loyal friend," David said and extended his hand.

Jason shook his hand. "It was my pleasure. I knew that Tommy would want you both here. I'm just sorry it took so long."

"We'll fix that," David said as he pulled two cards from his wallet. He handed one to Jason and took out a pen. "What's your number?"

After Jason gave him his phone numbers, David suddenly asked, "When are you going back to Switzerland?"

"I'm not. I'm staying here. You can call me anytime you want—home or cell phone. My mom will give me the message if I'm not home."

That settled, they all stayed and talked for a long while after. Jason was amazed at how similar Tommy and David were—it was uncanny considering that they had been separated when Tommy was only a year or so old.

Sam was a great guy to talk to, too. He was very friendly and open—he got along great with the big group of teenagers assembled in the waiting room.

They eventually got up to start the drive home, promising to be back the following day. Before he left, however, Sam took Jason aside.

"Jason, do not give up hope. Tommy's body is weak, but his spirit is strong—I can feel it. He's in there and he's trying to come back to us. Keep doing what you've been doing. I know you have a great love for him—don't give up."

Tears welled up in Jason's dark eyes. "I would never—_could_ never—give up on him, Mr. Trueheart. He's part of me."

"I know, brave one," Sam said and then he and David left. Jason felt the best he had since this whole horrible ordeal had started. He fell asleep that night with Sam's words ringing in his ears: ". . . his spirit is strong . . . he's trying to come back to us . . . don't give up."

'_I will never give up on you, Tommy Oliver. Never.'_

______________________________________________________________________________

_Author's Notes:__ (Squints eyes) What is that I see in the distance? A light at the end of the tunnel . . .?? Perhaps . . . Keep those reviews coming!! It's that little button right down there . . ._


	7. Connections

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. Sometimes life just gets in the way. You know—work, school, holidays, etc. I hope it's worth the wait! And for my faithful readers, this story is already written to approximately 25 chapters or so. It's got a ways to go yet!! Thanks for hanging in there!

**Chapter 7****--Connections**

The rangers had arrived not long after the attack began. The warehouse district was swarming with cogs. Mondo's monster du jour was already 40 stories tall and tearing up buildings as it moved toward the heart of the city. Innocent civilians were everywhere, most of them panicked.

"Awww, man—not good," Tommy declared as he quickly surveyed the situation.

He engaged and defeated three cogs and saw Adam fighting off a few nearby. The other rangers were nowhere to be seen, but he figured they were close by, fighting their own battles. He ducked into a nearby building to try to call for backup.

"Billy, we need the zords now!" he ordered into his communicator, but he got only static in return. Something was blocking the signal.

"Great! Just great!" he exclaimed sarcastically.

Adam ran into the same building a moment later, breathing hard.

"Damn, they're everywhere! Mondo must have sent every cog he has!" He took a second to breathe. "Tommy, we need the zords!"

"I know! Communicators aren't working!" came the frustrated reply from several yards away.

Then the shaking began—terrible, violent quaking that threatened to tear that old building apart.

'_We gotta get outta here!'_ thought the ranger commander as he began to sprint toward the closest exit.

Before he could reach it though, a crushing weight came down on him, blindsiding him and knocking him to the floor. The air was thick with dust and Tommy choked as he tried to breathe. His head throbbed like it was in a vice—his chest was being compressed under the mass of the huge chunk of ceiling that was on top of him. The pain was excruciating. Every breath was torment—he couldn't see.

"Tommy!" came a voice. It sounded familiar, but far away.

'_What hit me? . . . O god, this hurts!'_

Just when the pain became absolutely too much to bear, Tommy felt his body becoming lighter and what little light he could see was growing dimmer. His logical mind knew he was pinned to the floor, but defying logic, he felt his body floating. All went dark . . .

______________________________________________________________________

When he became aware of himself again, he heard voices around him—right over the top of him. He dared not open his eyes yet.

'_I know those voices!'_

A cold chill ran up Tommy's spine. He tried to quickly regain his wits and assess his situation. He could feel tight restraints on each wrist and across his thighs; his head and chest felt like they had weights on them—the pain was terrible. It was cold and damp—there was the smell of chemicals hanging in the air—he felt sick to his stomach.

"Can you do it, Finster? I need him at his evil best, just like he was before," came the all-too-familiar screeching voice of Rita Repulsa.

Tommy inwardly shuddered. _'How the hell . . . what are they trying to do to me?'_

"I will certainly try, my queen . . ." Finster said in his usual quiet, cowering voice. ". . . but I must tell you that it won't be easy. This spell that you have proposed takes a lot of preparation . . ."

"I _know_ that, you moron! I'm the sorceress here, remember?!" she barked, interrupting Finster.

"Yes, my queen, but my point is this: It would be difficult enough if he was healthy, but he's quite damaged. I don't know if he will survive long enough for me to prepare him."

Tommy's eyes nearly snapped open when he heard that.

'_What?!'_ The pain was bad, he knew that, but . . . _'Am I that bad off?'_

He tried to mentally take stock of his condition, but it was growing more and more difficult to think clearly. The throbbing pressure in his head was clouding his mind. He knew he had a pretty severe head injury.

'_Maybe I'm hallucinating . . .'_

Tommy felt hands touching his chest and abdomen. The pain emanating from that area was awful—his ribcage felt like it had been crushed making the simple act of drawing a breath agonizing. His gut was on fire. When he coughed, he tasted blood.

'_I'm definitely not hallucinating.'_

The hands that were moving over his body weren't hurting him, however. They seemed to be trying to heal him. Tommy noticed that the voices had quietened and he seemed to be alone with whoever was working on him.

He slowly opened his eyes and blinked to clear his vision. His eyes were blurry, but he was able to make out the figure of Rita and Zedd's minion, Finster, standing over him concentrating hard on what he was doing.

He glanced over at the face of the injured young man and saw him looking back at him. The fear and pain must have shown on the red ranger's face.

"Tommy . . . you're conscious. I thought for sure you'd be out for a while," he paused and looked at him more closely. "I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I'm attempting to treat you."

"Yeah, right . . ."

"I'm going to have to put you under anesthetic to do this, though."

He reached for what looked like a gas mask and Tommy instinctively started to struggle. Finster's hands held him as still as he was able.

"Tommy, I know you don't trust me and I understand why, but you need to let me do this. You're in bad shape. Do you understand?"

Tommy tried to speak—to say something like, 'If you care so much, transport me to the power chamber and let Alpha take care of me'—but all he could do was groan. He coughed hard several times causing streams of blood to run from his mouth. He began to realize how bad off he was.

Finster seized the moment and pressed the mask over the red ranger's face. Tommy felt himself going under—the world was going black again.

____________________________________________________________________

When he finally awoke, he was quite groggy.

'_Where am I? Why can't I move?'_

He was disoriented and still in a lot of pain. Slowly though, he remembered Finster and hearing the voice of Rita. Fear struck him.

'_I gotta g__et outta here! They'll kill me . . . or worse, turn me evil again!'_

He was weak and uncoordinated, but he immediately started struggling against the restraints that still held him to the table. To his surprise, they gave away easily.

'_They weren't locked . . .'_

He glanced around the room—he was alone. Tommy struggled to sit upright—the pain throughout his body was awful. He looked down to find bandages on his stomach and chest.

'_Well, I'm still alive. That's something.'_

Slowly, he lowered himself to the floor and flinched when his bare feet touched the cold, damp stone floor. He was dressed only in blue jeans.

'_Where are my clothes—my uniform? It's freezing in this place!'_ he thought as he crept along slowly, holding on to the stone wall in order to move.

His legs were so weak, but he had to try to find a way out. He really didn't know what he'd do if he found one. He didn't have his communicator or his zeonizers, but instinct told him that he had to at least _try_ to escape.

The passageways were dark and eerie. He moved along slowly, trying to be quiet and stay out of sight. He held one arm tightly against his stomach, trying to slow the bleeding that had started when he sat up. The bloodstain on the bandage was growing by the minute. Breathing was becoming more and more difficult.

'_If I'm gonna die in this god-forsaken hellhole, it's going to be while fighting—not while being used as a lab rat!'_

Moving slowly along for what seemed like an hour, Tommy came upon a big set of secure-looking doors.

'_I wonder if those lead outside?'_

He hid in an alcove across from the doors and waited for the guards to walk past. Creeping out into the open, he was almost across the hallway when one of the guards suddenly turned.

"Stop! You! Stay where you are!"

Tommy lunged for the doors and tried to push one of them open, but they were way too heavy to move.

"You want out, boy? Okay, we'll let you out!"

They grasped Tommy by both arms and held him tightly between them. One of the guards reached out and worked a heavy latch and prepared to push one of the huge doors open. He turned back to his captive.

"Just remember—there's no air out there!" he laughed and together they shoved Tommy through the doorway and slammed it shut behind him, leaving him alone on the surface of the moon.

Tommy struggled for breath, grasping his throat. He couldn't utter a sound. His body began tingling all over and bright flashes appeared before his eyes. His sight left him and he crumpled to the ground, gasping and bleeding . . .

_________________________________________________________________________

(Sometime later)

'_. . . bright light . . .mmmm, my head hurts . . . and my chest . . .'_

Tommy blinked a few times and then slapped a hand across his eyes. His mind was muddled. With his other hand, he felt of his chest and stomach where the pain was coming from.

'_What happened to me? Where are the guys?'_

He tried again to open his eyes and look around. Once he adjusted to the suddenly bright light, he found himself lying on a bed of leaves and pine needles in a forest clearing.

'_How did I get here? The last thing I remember . . .'_

He thought for a moment. He didn't know. He vaguely remembered being in a building that was falling in.

'_Is that when I got hurt? Must be . . .'_

A picture of Finster standing over him suddenly popped into his mind. Then he remembered creeping along the dark, dank corridors of Rita and Zedd's fortress trying to find a way out. He recalled the feel of the guards' grip on his arms as they flung him through the big steel doors. His hand went to his throat. He remembered gasping and fighting for breath. He pulled himself up to a sitting position.

'_Then how did I get here?'_

Tommy rubbed his head and looked around again. The forest was pleasant and sunny. Rays of sunlight danced through the leaves and warmed his face. Birds sang in the trees as a gentle breeze blew Tommy's hair across his face. He stood up slowly and looked down at his injured body.

'_Where did these clothes come from?'_

He found himself wearing a white shirt and pants made of a gauzy material—like something he would have worn to the beach back in his white ranger days. His bronzed skin and dark hair stood out in sharp contrast to the crisp white of the material. His shirt was unbuttoned down past his chest and he was barefooted. Lifting the shirt, he examined the bandages on his body. He seemed to remember a sizeable bloodstain on his stomach, but there was no trace of it now. He wondered if he could really trust his memory.

Tommy began wandering without direction—he wanted to figure out where he was and how to get home, but he had no idea how to go about it. Sounds began reaching his ears.

'_Are those voices? Where are they coming from?'_

He moved in the direction of the voices and noticed that the forest got darker and denser the closer he got to the sound. He also perceived that the pain in his chest and head worsened as he moved in that direction. The voices became clearer, but still sounded distant.

"I don't know what happened--he's crashing! Call Dr. Jennings!" an excited female voice said.

'_What is that about?'_

"Where are you? Where am _I_?" he said loudly and clutched his chest in pain.

The voices came wafting back to his ears.

"Blood pressure and heart rate dropping . . ."

"Adrenaline injection now! Where's that doctor?"

"He had another emergency . . ."

Tommy leaned against the closest tree—he felt weak and a bit panicked, though he didn't understand why.

'_What am I hearing? What's going on?'_

"We're losing him!"

His breathing quickened and his heart pounded—his anxiety was threatening to overcome him. He could feel his body tingling—it radiated outward from his chest—something was happening to him—something bad.

Instinctively, he started to move away from the voices as quickly as he could. He stumbled a couple of times when his knees buckled. That sent waves of horrid pain surging through his body, but he continued to retreat. He really wished he could break into a run.

He paused and clutched his chest again. He was trying to breathe, but it hurt so badly. As he rested there, a familiar voice came floating to his ears.

"Tommy, don't leave us—I need you, bro . . ."

"Jase?! . . . Is that you?"

He looked around, hoping to see his old friend walking toward him, but he wasn't to be found.

'_I'm losing my mind—that's what it is.'_

He pushed himself along, trying to put some distance between him and the frightening sounds and feelings he'd just experienced. He traveled what seemed to be a fairly long distance. The forest began thinning out and he felt the sun on his face again. Ahead, he thought he saw a distant glow coming from an area straight in front of him. It seemed calm and inviting—he felt compelled to walk toward it. His mind calmed and his pain seemed to almost cease as he approached it.

'_What is that light? It's so . . . warm, so comforting.'_

He felt lighter and happier as he drew closer. Soon, he thought that the glow was almost tangible—like he could reach out and touch its warmth. Absently, he raised a hand in that direction and closed his eyes. He drew a deep breath and realized that his chest didn't hurt.

'_This is amazing . . . I feel completely healed.'_

Tommy then noticed that his hand had touched something solid. His eyes snapped open and he found himself looking into the face of a man that looked a lot like David. He was a little older, maybe late 20s, but the resemblance was amazing. The woman standing beside him was beautiful—she had long, wavy, honey brown hair and large, light brown eyes. She looked about the same age. They both smiled at him warmly and touched his shoulders.

"It's okay, Tommy. You're among friends—we won't hurt you," the man said.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"We're here to watch over you—to make sure that you find your way," the young woman answered.

Tommy noticed that they looked somewhat familiar and that they were definitely native. He studied them more closely.

"Do I know you? What are your names?"

The man spoke up. "My name is Joseph and this is my wife, Elizabeth. You don't recognize us?" He paused. "No, of course you don't—you were so little."

Tommy's eyes suddenly widened. "Mom? Dad?"

"Yes, son, we're your parents—your real parents," Elizabeth said warmly with a wide smile.

Tommy's mouth dropped open. "But . . . how? How is this possible?"

He thought for a few moments. Things started adding up, but he didn't like what he was coming up with.

"Am . . . am I . . . dead?" he asked quietly, petrified of the answer.

His father smiled at him. "No my dear little Tommy, you're not. It's not your time yet. As Elizabeth said, we are here to make sure that you find your way. We have been acting as your guardian angels since we passed from your world into ours. We also watch over your brother David. Admittedly, though, _you_ need more watching!" He grinned at his son.

Tommy grinned back. Obviously, his parents knew all about him being a ranger and all that he had been through since being captured by Rita and forced to fight. The pleasant look disappeared from his face, however, when he remembered things in his past that he wouldn't want them to know. He would have wanted to spare them from all that. His parents sensed what he was thinking and they both wrapped him in a big, comforting hug.

"It's okay, son. We know you've had a lot of pain in your young life, but you are strong and brave. You have accomplished a lot of good so far and you are destined to do even more. We are so very proud of you, baby. You have grown into such a wonderful, handsome man," Tommy's mother said.

Tears spilled down his cheeks as he looked into their faces. He could see himself and David in their eyes—and an enormous amount of love. He had never felt so safe, so at peace, so . . . complete. They stayed there with their arms around each other for quite a while.

Eventually Joseph said, "Tommy, you must start your journey back now. We will watch over you and help if we're needed, but you have to find your own way."

"No . . . I don't want to leave you. Please let me stay." He turned to Elizabeth. "Mom, please."

"We would love nothing more than to keep you here with us, Falcon, but it's not your time yet. You have to return to your life—you have a lot of living left to do."

"She's right. One day, we'll all be together—me, you, your mom, and David. But for now . . ."

"Dad, listen to me. I have no one but David and Sam and they've done without me for most of my life. No one else would really even miss me," he said, lowering his head and sniffling as a few tears fell from his eyes.

"Tommy, baby, that's just not true. You have some very dear friends that love you so much. And I'll tell you something else—David might not show his emotions a lot, but he would be absolutely devastated if he lost you again."

Tommy found a small smile inching across his face.

"Darling, I know things seem bad right now, but you have to go back. There is a special person in your future—and marriage—and children—our grandkids!" She smiled widely and looked from Tommy to her husband.

"Kids? _My_ kids?"

"Yes, _your_ kids."

"Wow . . . marriage? To who?"

"Now Tommy, I can't tell you everything, even though you might not remember all of this."

"I won't remember you?! But I _want_ to remember you! Please help me to—I need you both so much," Tommy pleaded.

"We'll try to see that you have some memory of us. Now, you have to start back," Joseph said. Putting his arm around his son's shoulders, he pointed off into the distance.

"Go in this direction and you'll come to a familiar place—you'll find someone to direct you further, okay?"

"Yes sir," Tommy said with a lot of sadness in his voice. He looked intently at his father, like he was trying to imprint his image onto his mind. Joseph and Tommy were almost exactly the same size and build, with Joseph being maybe an inch taller. He was lean and strong, with an angular face and handsome features. His hair was almost black and fell more than halfway down his back. The family resemblance was incredible.

Tommy pulled his father into a tight embrace and held him for a minute, trembling.

"Don't be afraid, Falcon. Everything will be fine," Joseph said, looking into his younger son's eyes.

"I just wish I could take you and Mom back with me. It's not fair that we have to be separated."

Elizabeth stepped up and touched Tommy's arm. "I know, but that's the way things are supposed to be for now. We'll all be together again."

Tommy turned to his mother and studied her closely like he'd done his father. He wanted to try his best to remember them.

Elizabeth Trueheart was average height and had a slim, athletic build. Her wavy, honey brown hair was almost as long as her husband's and her large, expressive eyes were the most beautiful mix of brown and gold. Her smile was warm, bright, and pretty. Tommy thought that he and David resembled their father more, but their facial features were very similar to hers as well.

He embraced her for a long moment and then pulled back and looked at them both.

"I never had the chance to get to know you, but I want to tell you how much I love you anyway. Sam has told me lots of stories about you and I have always wished there was a way for me to meet you. I'll try with all my might to remember you—you'll always be in my heart," he said while tears rolled down his handsome face.

"Tommy, you have always been in our hearts . . ." Joseph started.

". . . and you always will be. We're always with you, baby," Elizabeth finished.

Tommy knew it was time for him to go. He quickly hugged them again and with a last look, he turned and started off in the direction that his father had pointed out. After several yards, he turned to look back, but they were gone.

"Mom . . . Dad . . ."

________________________________________________________________________________

Making his way through the forest, Tommy thought carefully through everything that his parents had said. He felt comforted that he had a long life ahead of him—and two wonderful guardian angels to watch over him.

"At least I know that being a ranger won't kill me!"

He smiled when he remembered what his dad had said about him needing a lot of watching.

"I'll bet I _am_ a handful for them!"

Even though he missed them already, he truly did feel their presence all around him.

"I wish David could have seen them."

As he continued his hike to he-knew-not-where, he grinned thinking about his mom's words: 'there's a special person in your future—and marriage—and children—our grandkids!'

"Kids. Me? Okay . . . and I wonder who this special person is? Do I know them already?" He thought through some likely candidates . . . and some unlikely ones.

"Oh, who knows? Guess I'll just have to wait and see. Right now, I need to figure out where I'm going. Dad said it would be familiar and so far . . . nothing."

Finally, he emerged from the trees and looked around. He still didn't recognize anything. He did see a house in the distance and decided that it was as good a place as any to start. He started off across the field that turned out to be a horse pasture. Several paints and appaloosas were grazing nearby.

As he came closer, Tommy could make out more details of the house. It was blue, with darker blue shutters, and a big porch. All at once, he started to move quickly in that direction. He still couldn't run, but he was covering ground as fast as he could.

"That's Sam and David's house!"

He reached the porch and leaned panting against the railing. The pain wasn't nearly as bad as it had been in the dark forest, but it was returning after having completely left him during his time with his parents. He chanced to look down at himself while he was resting and realized that he was no longer wearing white.

'_What is with these sudden wardrobe changes?'_

He was now clad in well-worn faded jeans, a choker necklace, and an unbuttoned red shirt. There were no bandages. This is what he'd been wearing when this whole crazy day started.

Once he caught his breath, he climbed the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Maybe Sam or David is the one who can help me."

No answer. He knocked again, as loudly as he could. Still no answer. He tried opening the door, but it was locked tight.

"Great. They're not home. What now?"

He slumped back against the nearest post and tried to think. He heard a soft whinny come from behind him and he turned quickly. Standing at the bottom of the low stairs was Eaglefoot, a paint stallion with a distinct patch pattern on his face. He had taken a liking to Tommy during his many visits. The red ranger had ridden the big trail horse several times and afterward, he seemed to follow him around. Tommy went down to him and ran a hand down his muzzle.

"Hey boy, how'd you get out of the pasture, huh?"

He glanced over at the gate and found it closed and latched.

'_That's weird.'_

Eaglefoot nuzzled him repeatedly, like he was trying to tell him something. He was apparently inviting Tommy to climb onto his back. David had taught him how to ride bareback, so he used the bottom step on the porch and swung himself up onto the stallion. His ribs protested a bit, but not terribly bad. Tommy grabbed a handful of mane just as Eaglefoot starting moving toward the old dirt road that ran near the house.

He was a trained trail horse, but this wasn't the usual back country trail he was accustomed to. The horse seemed to know where he was going, however, and since Tommy didn't, he just let him go wherever he wanted.

After walking along slowly for a while, Eaglefoot broke into a trot. They seemed to be heading toward the low hills that rose up in the southwest corner of the reservation.

"Boy, I hope you know where you're taking me, 'cause I'm completely lost," he said while leaning over and patting the horse's neck.

Something in the sky caught Tommy's attention and he looked up to study it for a moment. When he glanced back down, they were trotting along the edge of the ocean.

"Whoa, hang on just a minute—that's absolutely impossible. The closest beach to the rez is an hour and a half away in a _car_."

At the sound of Tommy's 'whoa', Eaglefoot slowed and stopped in his tracks. He side-stepped a bit to get out of the cold water and stood there waiting. Bewildered, Tommy looked around. This was the same beach that he and his friends frequented. It was located about 20 minutes from Angel Grove.

'_But why am I here? And how did we get here? Losing my mind again . . .'_

As if being called by some unheard voice, Eaglefoot broke into a trot and then into a gallop, running along the water's edge. The late afternoon sun warmed Tommy's face as he rode along, wind whipping his long hair behind him. He pressed tighter into Eaglefoot's sides with his thighs and held onto the stallion's mane with both hands.

Tommy saw a familiar sight in the distance. It was the spot that Jason liked to visit, particularly when he was upset. He had found his best friend there several times after an argument or some life-changing event. Tommy thought about Jason and how his life hadn't been the same since his bro had left for Switzerland. He really wished he could see the former red ranger sitting there now. He needed a friendly face.

There was no Jason sitting on the rocks, but Tommy did see a figure standing a little further up the beach. They closed the distance quickly. Just as he was about to slow the big stallion down, Eaglefoot dropped out of his gallop and began to approach the man as if pre-programmed.

The figure that Tommy had seen turned out to be a man, specifically an older man that looked a lot like Sam. At first glance, he had thought it _was_ his great-uncle, but his clothes weren't modern. The man raised his hands to the horse's head and held and stroked him as Tommy dismounted and came to stand before him.

"Falcon, I have been waiting for you."

"Are you the one my father told me about? The one that would help direct me?"

"Yes, I am. Are you ready to return?"

"Yes sir," Tommy responded and took another long look at the older man in front of him.

"Ummm sir, you remind me a lot of my uncle, Sam Trueheart. Could we be related?"

"As a matter of fact, we are. I am Thomas Trueheart—your great-great-grandfather and the one you are named after."

"Wow . . . seriously? But how . . .?" Tommy was having a lot of trouble trying to understand all these strange things that had been happening to him.

"I mean, mom and dad said that I wasn't dead, but I know that they are and so are you. How is it that I'm talking to you?"

"Tommy, I am communicating with your spirit. Your body is actually in an unconscious state. You were very badly injured and came quite close to death, but as I'm sure your parents told you, it is not your time yet. It is time for you to return and carry on with your life."

"I see. And how exactly do I go about that, grandfather?"

"You and I are going to visit the ancestral lands of our people. I am going to teach you a little about where you came from. After that, a person very well known to you will guide you back to your life."

The older man put an arm around Tommy's shoulders. "Tommy, I know that you have been deprived of your parents, the rest of your birth family, and your ancestry during your young life. I want you to use this opportunity to learn a small amount about your background and maybe it will inspire you to learn more."

Tommy smiled warmly at him. "Sir, ever since I found out who I am and where my family is, I have been soaking everything up like a sponge. Now I have met my parents and great-great-grandfather. This is incredible! I want to learn everything you have to teach me."

The elder Thomas regarded his grandson carefully. Tommy was taller and had slightly different features than the people that Thomas knew as members of his nation. The mixing of blood had changed the face of the tribe, but it was obvious to him that the young men, like Tommy and David, still carried familiar traits.

"Are you ready?" Tommy's grandfather asked.

"Yes sir."

"Then close your eyes," he said and took hold of Tommy's arm.

Tommy felt a warm wind on his face and noticed that the distinct smell of the ocean had disappeared. It took all of his restraint not to open his eyes to see what was happening and where he was going, but he successfully fought the urge.

"Okay, you can look now," Thomas said.

Tommy found himself astride Eaglefoot, riding beside his grandfather who was on a beautiful appaloosa stallion. They were riding slowly through a small traditional community in what looked to Tommy to be the high desert. Thomas told him story after story about where their people came from, their continual struggle to maintain their culture and language, and how they came to live on reservations like the one where David and Sam lived. Tommy drank it all in and was glad to finally know something of his people. They talked quite a bit and really enjoyed each other's company.

As they rode through a particularly beautiful but unpopulated area, Thomas told his grandson that they were on sacred land.

"This region has been inhabited by the spirits of our ancestors for centuries . . . and this is where I must leave you. Remember, one that you know well will guide you back. I will see that Eaglefoot gets home."

"I _will_ remember all of this . . . and you . . . won't I, grandfather?"

"I believe you will, Falcon. Now, do you see that peak over there?" He pointed to a tall, slender formation made of red rock.

"Head toward it and use your eyes, ears, and heart to reach your destination."

Tommy stepped up a little warily and embraced his great-great-grandfather who readily hugged him back.

"I am so glad that I got to meet and talk with you, sir. I wish my brother had the same opportunity."

"Yes. Maybe one day I will talk with David." He paused. "I am proud of you, Tommy. You are an intelligent, strong, spirited young man. Be proud of who you are."

"I am, sir. Thank you for everything."

"You are welcome. Now get going, Falcon," he said with a big smile.

Tommy gave him one long last look before he turned to leave. He knew better than to bother looking back—his grandfather wouldn't be there—just like his parents weren't.

'_Come to think of it, Sam does that too. Must be a family trait,'_ he mused to himself.

Tommy started walking across the dry, barren land, searching for some sign that would lead him back to where he was meant to be. There wasn't much in the way of landmarks or vegetation, but the arid high desert has a beauty all its own. The sky was turning red, yellow, and orange as sunset approached and the temperature was dropping. Tommy picked up the pace a bit.

He had been walking for at least a half hour with no sign of anyone.

"I wonder who it is that's supposed to help me? Someone I know well . . .? Who that I know would be out here in the middle of nowhere?"

He thought about it for a little while, but couldn't come up with anything.

"Tommy? Can you hear me? Please wake up, bro. All of your friends are here and we're all really worried about you."

The voice came from somewhere in front of Tommy. He strained his eyes looking in vain for the origin of the voice.

'_That sounded like Jase! He's in Switzerland, though. Why would he be here?'_

A few minutes later, he heard the voice again.

"Remember the tournaments we've won together? We make a really good team, huh? I've missed you, Tommy."

'_That __**is**__ Jase!'_

"Jase?! Bro?! Are you here?" he called out, hoping to see his best friend. It would soon be dark and he suddenly felt quite alone.

"Jason?" he shouted again. Still no response.

'_I know I heard you. Where are you, buddy?'_

Tommy had nearly reached the rock formation that his grandfather had pointed out and he had yet to see a solitary soul.

'_Jason must be the one that I know well that is supposed to help me—his is the only voice I've heard. But where __**is**__ he?'_

"Tommy? Tommy, please wake up . . . I'm so worried about you. Can you hear me?"

"Yes! I can hear you! Where are you, Jase?!"

The voice seemed to be coming from an opening in the side of the rock wall. On closer inspection, Tommy found that it was actually the mouth of a small cave. There was enough light left for him to slip inside and take a quick look around.

Apparently, someone had used the cave for shelter recently as they'd left a few things behind.

"Jase? Are you in here?"

'_Why the hell would you be in here?'_

"Come on, bro! I just heard you!"

Tommy walked toward the back of the cave and discovered that it was a lot deeper than it had initially looked. The voice was finally heard again.

"Tommy, you're the best friend I've ever had. I couldn't stand it if I lost you. Please come back to me."

"I'm trying to! I just can't find you! Jason?"

Tommy knew Jason's voice was coming from back there somewhere. But why? After wandering in the cool, dark silence for several minutes, Tommy found that the dim, narrow cave opened up into a much larger cavern. It had to be deep within the mountain.

'_Damn, I wish I had a flashlight! I really hope there aren't any animals in here.'_

He refused to let himself worry about that. He had to find Jason or at least find where his voice was coming from. His grandfather had told him to use his eyes, ears, and heart to find his way and right now, his eyes were useless. It was pitch dark in there.

His anxiety was building—he had no idea how large this cavern was or what might be in there. Did it lead somewhere? Was he on the right track? He felt along the wall and prefaced each step with a tentative toe touch. All he needed to do was fall into or over something.

He continued to call to Jason, but he hadn't heard his voice since it had led him into this inky blackness.

'_Why __won't he answer me?! Maybe I'm just crazy—maybe I've just completely lost my mind.'_

He thought again about what his grandfather had told him.

'_He said that someone I know well would lead me back. Okay, apparently that's Jason. I know that I'm not dead yet and I'm not supposed to be anytime soon, according to Mom. Grandfather said that I was in an unconscious state which I guess means a coma, so how am I hearing Jason talk to me?'_

He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Tommy decided to backtrack a bit to make sure that he could still find his way out if he needed to. He felt his way back along the wall, straining his eyes for any light. After several minutes though, he still hadn't found the passage that had led him here.

'_Where is it?! I know I didn't go this far!'_

He was trying to stay calm, but his anxiety was getting the better of him. The hair was beginning to stand on the back of his neck. He swung an arm backwards in the darkness, hoping to hit anything that might be there. Nothing.

'_It's all in my mind. There's nothing there. Calm down, Tommy.'_

He kept moving forward, but still couldn't find that elusive passage.

"Jason! Please help me!"

He slid down the wall and sat with his back against it and his knees pulled up to his chest. He laid his head on his arms and tried to calm down. Regardless of what he had been told, this felt real. He was upset, he was tired, and he was scared.

He concentrated on breathing and using his other senses since his eyes were useless. He tried to see if he could smell fresh air coming from one direction or the other—that could signal an opening to the outside. As he was concentrating on this, he felt, or thought he felt, something brush his leg. He swiped wildly at his leg, not knowing what, if anything, was touching him. He pushed away from the wall and stood quickly, his heart pounding in his chest. He took several steps backward, straining his eyes and ears for any clue as to what he had felt. There was nothing.

'_Okay, calm down. There's nothing there.'_

He held his arms out and moved forward, trying to find the wall again. He finally bumped into it.

'_Okay, that's something. Now, where is that passage?'_

To his horror, he couldn't remember which way he had come from. He put his back against the wall again, but he had become so disoriented and frightened in the utter darkness that he couldn't think straight. He started moving one way and then the other, not sure which was correct. His heart was beating furiously and his breathing was shallow and quick.

"Jason!" he cried out. "You're supposed to help me! I'm lost . . . and I'm scared! Please bro!" Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he dropped to his knees.

"I need to hear your voice—why won't you talk to me? Don't leave me here! Jason . . . I'm all alone . . . please . . .I need you . . ."

____________________________________________________________________________________

_Author's notes: I realize this is a departure from the story so far—I hope I haven't confused anyone. If so, email me and I'll explain myself! Thanks to my daughter for naming Eaglefoot. Now, keep those reviews coming! The next chapters are coming very soon!_


	8. Back to the Land of the Living

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** After the departure of the last chapter, this one gets back to the regular timeline.

**Chapter 8****—Back to the Land of the Living**

Day 5—Wednesday

_Jason? Where are you? I know you're close—I heard your voice __. . . please answer me. It . . . it's dark. I can't see . . . Jason, I'm . . . I'm scared . . . please bro . . . where are you? What's going on? Where am I? Jason, talk to me . . . don't leave me here like this . . . please . . . it's so dark . . . Jason!_

Jason woke with a start and looked around. He was in the waiting room floor, right where he'd fallen asleep. A few people looked over at him, but no one said anything. It was the middle of the night and if you're in the ICU Waiting Room at that hour, you're pretty much self-absorbed. No one paid much attention to anyone outside their own family.

Jason got up, went to the restroom, got some water, and tried to go back to sleep. It would be hours yet before the nurses would let him in to see Tommy. He snuggled back into his sleeping bag and eventually drifted off to sleep again.

_Jase, I know you're here . . . you were just talking to me . . . why did you stop? Please Jason . . . I need you . . . I'm lost and it's dark . . . where are you?__ . . . Please talk to me . . . I need to hear your voice . . . Jase, I'm scared . . . I'm alone . . . please bro . . . please . . ._

Jason woke suddenly again.

"Tommy??"

He knew he had been dreaming, but . . . it seemed so real.

'_His voice sounded so real, so close.'_

He sat up and tried to remember what the voice in his dream had said. He remembered hearing his name over and over, but what else? He closed his eyes and thought, trying to recall the dream. The voice sounded so frightened and lonely—it was heartbreaking. After a few moments, he remembered hearing 'where are you?' and the words 'scared', 'dark', and 'alone'. He swallowed hard.

'_What does it mean?'_

He felt that familiar knot in his stomach. This dream scared him. His insides were shaking.

'_Could that have been Tommy? Is he okay? Is he getting closer to consciousness or . . . is he slipping away?! Oh god!'_

Jason jumped up in a panic and ran to the ICU doors. He picked up the phone that communicated with the nurses' station inside the unit.

"Yes?" came the voice of the nurse on duty.

"Please ma'am. You've got to let me in to see Tommy. Tommy Oliver. Please, just for a minute."

"It's not visiting hours, sir. He needs to rest."

"I know . . . I'm sorry." He swallowed hard again. "It's just that I've got a really weird feeling that something's going to happen to him."

The nurse didn't say anything.

"I know it sounds crazy—I'm sorry. Please! Just for a few minutes."

She sighed. He was obviously frightened and if letting him in for a few minutes would calm him down and give _both_ of them some peace, so be it.

"Okay, but just for a quick visit, okay?"

"Yes ma'am. I promise."

She buzzed the lock and he went through. He mouthed 'Thank You' as he went by the station where she sat. The night nurse was young—mid 20s—and she had grown to like Jason and his friends. It was nice to see such devotion. She gave him a wave as he went by.

Jason walked quickly into Tommy's room and looked at him intently. It was darker than he'd seen it in there—he could just see Tommy's face. He looked okay, the same as he had a few hours ago. Jason checked out the monitors and the EEG readouts—by now, he could just about read them as well as any nurse. Things looked good—as a matter of fact, the EEG looked great. There were many more of the 'peaks and valleys' on the tape than there had been . . . well, since they had hooked it up.

"Tommy? It's me, Jason. Bro, I know you can hear me. I want you to know that I'm here—right here. I'm not leaving you. The nurse is going to run me out in a few minutes, but I'll be in the waiting room. You're not alone, bro. I'll always be here for you."

Jason held his head and stroked his chest the way he had seen Sam and David doing earlier.

"Don't be afraid, okay? Everything is going to be fine."

He leaned down and kissed Tommy's forehead and then he sat down and interlaced their fingers. He placed a kiss on Tommy's hand.

"Bro, please come back to us—please wake up. We all love you so much. Everyone is so worried . . ."

Jason stroked Tommy's arm and squeezed his hand. He laid his head on the side of the bed. A couple of minutes later, the nurse stepped in and was about to make him leave and then she saw him there—it was apparent how much Tommy meant to Jason—she smiled and changed her mind. He wasn't doing any harm. She decided to let him stay a while longer—seeing his friend had obviously calmed him down.

Jason watched Tommy's face—that beautiful, bruised face. The only sound was the 'beep-beep . . . beep-beep' of the heart monitor and the airy sound of the ventilator every 5 or 6 seconds. He heard Sam's voice again:

'_He's in there—he's trying to come back to us—don't give up.'_

He started talking to Tommy again.

"Bro, you know I'll never give up on you—never. I'll stay here with you for as long as it takes. You're part of me. Please forgive me for being stupid and running away from my feelings. I'll never leave you again. I love you, Tommy."

He sighed and laid his head down again, continuing to stroke Tommy's arm for several minutes. Then he felt . . . _something_. A twitch. His mind was playing tricks on him, he decided.

He squeezed Tommy's hand again and then he felt it . . . Tommy's hand _moved_! He looked at their hands . . . those long, thin fingers were trying to squeeze back! He stood up quickly and looked at his friend's face, not daring to hope . . .

The sight that met his eyes was the most wonderful thing he'd ever seen. Tommy's long black eyelashes fluttered . . . and then it happened again. Jason held his breath. Slowly, those gorgeous, chocolate brown eyes opened and looked up at him . . .

"T-tommy? . . . Tommy! Oh, thank god!"

Jason kissed his forehead and stoked his cheek. He beamed down at him without saying anything else for a moment. He felt tears fall from his own eyes as he looked into the big, beautiful eyes of the one he loved.

Tommy blinked several times and tried to move his head, looking around. He was understandably disoriented—he couldn't see much and didn't know where he was, but seeing Jason watching over him helped to calm him.

"Hey there, bro," Jason said, smiling warmly. "It's _so_ good to see you awake . . . you _do_ know who I am, right?" His voice was so full of emotion that it nearly broke. A couple of tears rolled down his cheeks.

Tommy nodded slightly and tried to make some sort of sound, but all he could manage was a quiet groan. Jason sniffled and wiped his face.

"Thank goodness. I guess we should let someone else know the good news, huh?" he said with a big smile as he stepped away from the bed and over to the door.

"Nurse! He's awake! Tommy's awake!!"

She came running into the room to check on her patient.

"Well, hello handsome! It's nice to finally see your eyes open!" She looked over the monitors and then went back out to call for another nurse. When she came back, the nurse turned on the overhead light so that she could examine him a little closer. Tommy's eyes snapped shut as the suddenly bright light blinded him.

He started moving around more and struggling a bit. He moved his head back and forth, as much as he was able. His shaking hands started reaching for the ventilator tube and he groaned again. Jason's eyes widened and he looked at the head nurse.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"Nothing," she said as she took Tommy's hands away from his mouth and placed them at his sides. "No, no . . . don't do that."

She turned to Jason. "He doesn't like having that tube down his throat. Can't say I blame him."

Looking back at Tommy, "We'll take it out in a second, baby, okay?" she said sweetly.

The machine continued to breathe for him, but now he was fighting back, so the end result was that he was choking himself.

"See if you can get him to settle down—he knows you," the younger nurse said to Jason.

Jason looked intently into his eyes. "Tommy, calm down bro. Listen to my voice, okay?"

He placed his hands over Tommy's and gently kept them in place. "Stop struggling against the ventilator—let it breathe for you. The nurse will take it out in a minute, okay?"

Tommy nodded a little and did his best to be calm. It was hard, though. Jason could see in Tommy's eyes that he was disoriented and scared. Jason kept talking and kept his eyes on his bro.

The head nurse prepared to take the offending tube from her patient's throat. She pulled the tape from his lips and instructed him, when she said 'go', to tilt his head back, take a deep breath and hold it, and she would get that 'nasty old tube' out as fast as she could. First though, she had to make sure he was breathing well on his own. She reached over and flipped off the ventilator and waited to see how Tommy's body would react. A few seconds later, he opened his mouth and took a staggered breath—he tried to cough, but the tube was choking him.

"Shallow breaths, baby. Try again," the older nurse said.

He did and fared better this time. Jason patted his hands and smiled. He took another breath and had no problems.

"Okay, you seem to be doing fine—let's get that thing outta there," she said.

Tommy did as he had been told and on the word 'go', she gently and quickly pulled the long, clear tube out of his mouth and throat. Tommy gagged and coughed, but took several deep breaths and was fine. Jason felt sympathy pains in his own throat as he watched the tube come out. The patient did wince when he swallowed, though.

"Gives you one helluva sore throat, huh darlin'?" the older nurse asked.

Tommy nodded his head and placed his hand on his throat—he winced again.

"I'll get you something for that, hold on." She looked at the ever-present best friend. "Jason, see if you can get him to drink some water. Small sips, okay?" she instructed Tommy.

When she brought him the water, Jason held the straw to Tommy's lips and he drank a little, flinching with pain every time he swallowed. Once they'd gotten some water down him, the nurse sprayed his throat to numb it a bit.

"That'll help, darlin'." She rubbed his head and gently patted his cheek. "Can you speak?"

Tommy opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He tried clearing his throat, but that hurt too much. He finally looked up at her and shook his head.

"That's okay—might take a little while. Just rest for now," she said.

"Ma'am, could someone call his parents?" Jason asked.

"Already done. They'll be here shortly," she replied. "I'll be right back—call if you need me."

Jason turned back to Tommy and smiled brightly at him. "Man, we've got some celebrating to do! I've gotta let the guys know!"

He started to get up, but Tommy held his hand as tightly as he was able. Jason looked down to see Tommy mouth the words 'Don't go'. That warmed Jason's heart—he stayed put and said that he'd wait a little while. He continued to rub Tommy's arm and smile at him. As had become his habit over the last few days, he interlaced their fingers and kissed Tommy's hand.

It suddenly occurred to Jason that Tommy was awake now—how would he react to such an obvious show of affection? He looked into Tommy's eyes tentatively, not sure how his bro would respond. Tommy looked at their clasped hands and, to Jason's great relief, smiled warmly at him. Jason felt butterflies in his stomach.

Tommy indicated that he wanted more water and after Jason helped him take a drink, he cleared his throat a little and tried again to speak. His voice was quiet and weak, not to mention a bit rough, but Jason understood him perfectly.

"Jase, I'm glad you're here."

Those were some of the sweetest words Jason Scott had ever heard. After so many hours of not knowing whether Tommy was going to live or die, to be sitting by him, looking into his eyes and hearing those words . . . it was one of the greatest gifts he'd ever been given.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be, bro," he replied.

"What happened?" Tommy asked weakly.

Jason was about to start the explanation when Tommy's neurologist came in, followed closely by Michael and Margaret Oliver.

"Tell you later," he said as he moved to make way for the others. Tommy didn't seem to want to let go of Jason's hand—he clung to him.

Jason patted his hand. "I'm not leaving, bro," he said in a reassuring tone as he stepped back away from the bed. Tommy's parents kissed and hugged their son—tears of relief falling from their eyes.

The doctor performed a quick examination, making sure that Tommy could hear and speak properly and that his eyes were focusing correctly. He also checked that he had feeling in all parts of his body and that his reflexes were good. When he was convinced that everything was in order, he began asking him a series of questions—name, birthday, age, who the president was, where he went to school, etc., etc. The red ranger got most of them right.

"His short term memory has been affected somewhat, but that's to be expected with a severe concussion. I'm sure it'll straighten itself out in no time," the doctor said.

Jason, who was standing over against the wall, but within Tommy's sight, had to grin.

'_Great, just what Tommy needs—more holes in his memory!'_

He thought now would be a good time to contact the gang, so he stepped out into the hallway and made the nurse at the desk promise to let him back in if he went to call his friends and let them know the good news. She laughed and gave her word that she wouldn't leave him scratching at the door.

"One thing, though. How in the world did you know he was going to wake up?" she asked.

"I didn't. I just knew something was going on with him—I just didn't know what."

"That's quite a psychic link you two have."

"Yeah, it is. Weirds me out sometimes, though."

She grinned at him as he left to spread the best news he'd had in a long time.

_____________________________________________________________________

Jason walked out into the rooftop garden to contact his friends. This was the same place he had gone after Tommy had nearly died. It would be nice to have a good memory of it as well.

Looking at his watch, he saw that it was nearly 5 am. Early, yes, but he was sure the guys would forgive him. First, though, there was something else he had to do.

Sitting on one of the wooden benches, he made the sign of the cross and then held his head in his hands.

'_Lord, thank you for sparing Tommy—thank you for letting him wake up just now. You know there are so many people that love him and care for him. You know how much I love him as my best friend and brother. I want you to know how much it means to me to have him back. Please let him be okay—don't let the brain damage he sustained change him. He's such a kind, loving, warm person—please let him be himself when he gets well. But most of all, thank you for letting him live. Amen.'_

Having that accomplished, he brought the wrist communicator up to his lips and pressed the button.

"Guys, this is Jason. Is anyone awake?" He paused for a moment. No one answered.

"Guys! Come on . . . somebody answer me." He paused again.

Finally, a sleepy voice was heard. "Yeah? This is Rocky—what's up?"

"Jase? Is that you? Is everything okay?" That was Zack.

"Hey guys—sorry to wake you up, but I have some _good_ news for a change," Jason answered.

"Really? What is it?!" Rocky asked, sounding more awake.

"Everyone needs to be here in the morning . . . well, in 2 hours . . . when visiting hours start. There's some good news to be shared," Jason replied.

He had decided to tell everyone face to face when they could go in and see Tommy—and he could see them really happy and excited.

"Oh, come on Jase—tell us!" Zack said.

"Yeah, what he said," added Adam, who had woken up and heard the majority of the conversation.

Jason grinned. "No, not yet. I'll tell you all at 7 am in the waiting room—make sure everyone knows, okay? Jason out."

"Jase, man!" Zack groused.

"Come on, Ja . . ." Adam started.

The former red ranger chuckled and shut off his communicator. He wasn't going to be talked into anything. There were two calls he had to make the old fashioned way—David and Sam, and his parents. He went into the waiting room and picked up the phone. Even though he was delivering wonderful news, he hated to call anyone at that hour. He knew it would scare them.

Pulling the card out of his wallet, he dialled the number and spoke to David. After he calmed him down, he gave him the good news and said he'd see him in a few hours. The call to his parents went much the same way.

His tasks completed, he headed back to Tommy's room to spend more time with his bro. The nurse let him in like she promised and he winked at her on the way by the desk.

"Bring me flowers next time, handsome," she kidded.

He grinned back at her and went into the room he had come to know so well. Tommy's parents were still sitting with him, but when he caught sight of Jason, his eyes lit up and he smiled. He even tried to lift his hand toward him, but he was too weak. The Olivers went in search of coffee to let Jason and Tommy have some time alone. They really appreciated the young man's devotion to their son--they had always liked Jason.

"Hey there, bro. How're you feeling?" Jason asked as he sat down next to Tommy.

"I'm okay," he said weakly.

"No pain?"

"Not much. I'm sure I'm on some good drugs," he smiled.

"Yeah, no doubt! Did your parents tell you what happened?"

"Some of it. I think they left some stuff out, though."

"Well, Adam or Billy could probably tell you more than I can, but from what I understand, you saved a lot of people."

Tommy smiled. "How did I get hurt so bad? Wasn't I morphed? I don't remember anything about it."

"No, you weren't. Adam said that you and he didn't have time to morph, unless you were going to do it in public. There were too many people and too much panic."

Tommy nodded to say that he understood. "Were the other guys hurt?"

"It was only you and Adam down there and he got pretty banged up, but nothing serious. He's okay. He feels terribly guilty, though."

"Why?"

"Because you pushed him out of the way and got hit by that beam yourself. He thinks he should be in here instead of you."

Tommy shook his head. "That's crazy. He would have done the same for me."

"I know, that's what I told him."

Tommy smiled at his bro. "You'd like Adam—he's a good guy—and a good ranger. Rocky too."

"I like both of them—we've been talking quite a bit over the last few days."

Tommy suddenly looked very serious. "Jase, has David and Sam been to visit me?"

"Yeah, they were here last night. And I called them a few minutes ago to let them know that you're awake. You'll see them soon."

Tommy smiled contentedly. "Good." He was sounding very tired.

"Bro, I'm gonna go and let you sleep. I'll see you in a few hours, okay?"

Tommy grabbed his hand. "No. Please don't go, Jase. Don't leave me alone." He looked uneasy and he was. He just didn't know why.

'_Is he really afraid?'_

"You're safe, bro. Nobody's gonna bother you," Jason said while rubbing Tommy's arm.

"Just . . . don't go. Not yet," he asked.

Jason patted his hand. "Okay, I'll stay. But you need to rest, alright?"

Tommy nodded. He looked at Jason for a minute and then closed his eyes. Jason watched him as he rested.

'_Even with the bruises, cuts, and bandages—he's beautiful.'_

He reached up and pushed some of Tommy's hair back away from his face. Tommy smiled.

"Hey, I thought you were asleep," Jason said.

"Not yet." Tommy took Jason's hand in his own and looked at him. He seemed as if he wanted to say something.

"What is it, bro?"

"When do you have to go back to Switzerland?" His voice sounded sad.

Jason smiled. "Well, I've figured out that it's a nice place to visit, but I don't want to live there."

Tommy looked at him questioningly. "Hmmm?"

His bro smiled even bigger and squeezed Tommy's hand. "I'm not going back—I'm staying here."

Tommy's face lit up like a firecracker—he gave Jason a huge smile. "Really?! Why?"

"Oh, I missed the old place, my friends, my family . . . guess I'm just a homebody after all."

"That's great! I'm so glad, Jase."

"Yeah, me too. Now get some sleep before your nurse kicks me out for keeping you awake," Jason grinned.

"Okay, okay." Tommy settled down, though he still wore a big grin on his face. He eventually drifted off to sleep and Jason slipped out to the waiting room to announce the big news to their friends. Boy, was this gonna be a scene!

_____________________________________________________________________

The ICU Waiting Room was quickly filling with people in anticipation of the first scheduled visiting period of the day—7:15. It was getting close to 6:30 and Jason needed to make himself a little more presentable before all of his friends arrived at 7. He gathered up his things from the floor, cleaned himself up, and changed clothes. He fleetingly thought about the possibility of sleeping in his own bed that night—it would be good to get off of that hard floor.

When he came out of the small bathroom, Adam and Rocky were sitting where his bed had been, looking rather perturbed.

"So what's the big secret, Jase?" Adam asked. He had gotten comfortable enough now with the former red ranger to use his nickname.

"Yeah, you said that it was good news, right?" Rocky added.

"Good morning to you, too!" Jason said with a grin. "Yeah, it's good news," he said rather off-handedly as he put his toiletry kit away. He knew not knowing was killing them, but he was in the best mood he'd experienced in a long time—so he let 'em squirm.

"Well?!" Adam said, sounding exasperated. He hadn't been able to go back to sleep since hearing Jason on the comm. channel at 5 am. He wanted to know!

"Well what?" Jason couldn't help but giggle at the green zeo ranger.

"What's the news?" Curiosity was getting to Rocky too.

"Not until everyone gets here—I promise it's worth waiting for."

"He's doing better? He's off the ventilator?" Adam didn't dare ask the big question—he didn't want to be disappointed.

Billy and Zack walked in while the green and blue rangers were interrogating Jason, followed closely by Kat, Trini, and Tanya. They all started pummelling Jason with questions as soon as they got within earshot. Jason rolled his eyes and held up his arms imploring them to calm down and let him talk. They were also getting some disapproving looks from the other people in the waiting room. Jason decided that it might be best to make this announcement elsewhere. Some of the families that had been there all along weren't getting good news. It just didn't seem right to have a celebration in front of them.

"Okay, we're all here. Let's go out to the garden and give these people some peace."

They all marched across the hall and out the big glass doors that led into the rooftop garden. He told them all to sit and they dispersed onto the many benches and turned to listen to Jason.

"Early this morning, I had a dream that really scared me. I know you guys know about the series of nightmares I've been having concerning Tommy, right?"

They all nodded 'yes'.

"Well, this wasn't one of them, but it unnerved me all the same. I heard Tommy calling out to me—he sounded so scared and alone—he kept asking where I was and begging me not to leave him—it was eerie. So I got up and asked the nurse to let me in to see him for a few minutes. Once I got to his room and saw that he wasn't in trouble, I figured I was just being stupid and paranoid, so I sat down and talked to him and held his hand. I laid my head down on his bed and then . . . " he smiled broadly, "he squeezed my hand! He's awake, guys!"

A loud cheer went up from the group—so loud that the people inside the glass hallway turned to look at them. Jason started to get pummelled again.

"Yes, he recognized me and his parents", "About 4 am, I think", "He seems fine", "No, he doesn't remember anything about it", "yes, the doctor checked him out—he can move everything", "No, but he's on a lot of pain killer", "not sure", "yes, they're going to do more tests", etc., etc.

"Guys, we can all go see him in a little while. Let's not wear him out, though, okay?" Jason said, grinning but getting dizzy from being pulled in so many different directions.

The Olivers walked by the waiting room door and Jason looked at his watch.

"There go his parents. We'll wait till they come out, okay?"

Everyone nodded. 15 to 20 minutes later, Tommy's parents emerged and came around the corner toward the waiting room. All of Tommy's friends were stacked up in the hallway, waiting to see him. Just then, David and Sam came along and greeted the new friends they'd made the night before.

While the Olivers were speaking to Kat, they overheard Jason say to David, "No, you and Sam go ahead—you're _family_. We'll wait."

Margaret Oliver shot a look directly at Jason—clearly, she didn't care for what he'd said. He looked at her perplexed—what had he done wrong? Then he recalled her nonchalant attitude about letting the Truehearts know about Tommy's accident in the first place.

'_What's her issue? They're his family, too.'_

Before he could ponder it any further though, she and Tommy's dad walked off down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.

Kat gave Jason a questioning look which Jason answered with a shrug.

____________________________________________________________________

Tommy lay in his bed waiting to see who would come through the door next. The nurses had elevated the head of his bed so that he could see and talk with his visitors more easily.

He was still bandaged, bruised, cut, and a bit swollen, but to his friends he looked wonderful. They all filed in and surrounded his bed—all 8 of them. They smiled happily at him and started talking all at once. Everyone laughed, including Tommy.

"Hey guys," he said weakly, but smiled brightly at them. The girls all took their turn at kissing his cheeks—over and over again. He just laid there and laughed.

"How're you feeling, Tommy?" Adam asked when the women had been pulled off their leader.

"Okay, I guess. Pretty weak," he managed to say.

Kat cupped his bruised cheek in her slender fingers. "You gave us quite a scare, Tommy." Her voice was shaking.

He covered her hand with his and smiled up at her. "Sorry."

"It's just so good to see your eyes open, man," Rocky said.

". . . And the ventilator gone!" Zack added. They all nodded.

With the mention of the breathing tube, Tommy put his hand to his throat and winced. "Yeah, gave me a serious sore throat."

"You want your spray?" Jason asked. He reached toward the table and picked up the bottle, showing it to Tommy. He nodded, so Jason gave him the medicine and Tommy tried to do it himself, but he was still too drained and uncoordinated to manage it.

"Here, let me," Jason said softly. He took the bottle and sprayed the medicine into Tommy's mouth, coating his throat.

"Thank you," Tommy said, looking a bit embarrassed for being so helpless.

He answered a lot of questions and they laughed quite a bit, but he began to get tired after only a little while, so the gang promised to be back later and they left—most of them, anyway.

"Jase, can I talk to you about something?" Tommy asked.

Billy and Zack took that as their cue to exit. "We'll see you after while, Tommy. Get some rest, okay?" Zack said.

"What's up, bro?" Jason asked.

"Sit," Tommy said and motioned toward the chair next to the bed.

"Uh oh, am I in trouble?" Jason asked, grinning.

"No," Tommy said hoarsely, returning the grin. "I just want to thank you for something."

"What's that?"

"Come closer, I can't speak very loud," Tommy said. His voice was giving out on him.

Jason pulled the chair up close and leaned in so that his bro wouldn't have to strain his vocal chords.

"David told me that you went all the way out to the rez to find him and Sam. They wouldn't have known that anything had happened to me if you hadn't done that." He paused and motioned for his water. After he took a drink, he placed his hand on Jason's. He leaned over closer to his bro and gave him a warm, sweet smile.

"Thank you for doing that. You have no idea how much that means to me."

It would have been so easy for Jason to close those last remaining inches between them and brush his lips against Tommy's . . . but he thought better of it. For now.

"You're welcome, bro. I knew you'd want them to be here. I just wish we could have let them know sooner."

"Well, the important thing is, they know now—thanks to you. I've been wanting you and David to meet, you know."

"I know. I just wish it could have been under better circumstances."

"Yeah, but maybe we can get together when you come home for Christmas. You _are_ still planning to visit during the holidays, right?"

Jason looked at him with a thoroughly confused look. "Bro, I explained that already."

"You did?" Tommy looked confused as well.

"Yeah, remember? I told you earlier this morning—I'm not going back to Switzerland. I'm staying here."

Tommy's face lit up all over again, just like it had earlier. "Really?! That's great!" He paused for a moment. "You told me that already?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry about it. The doctor said your short term memory would be affected by your concussion."

"Great. Just what I needed." He shook his head. "But you're staying?! That's wonderful!"

He had barely gotten the words out when he started coughing, hoarsely and deeply. Severe pain shot through his chest causing him to grasp at his ribcage and grimace.

"Fuck, that hurt!" he said, his voice now gravelly.

Jason cautiously laid a hand on his chest. "You okay, bro?"

Tommy winced again and nodded. "Coughing—bad. Got it."

"Want me to get the nurse?"

"No, I'm okay now," he croaked, his voice sounding so rough that it made Jason's throat hurt.

He looked down at Jason's hand lying on his chest and then looked over at him. Jason quickly removed his hand, a sheepish expression on his face. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Tommy grinned as they continued to gaze at each other.

They only looked away when the nurse came in to tell Tommy about his upcoming tests. The doctor had ordered another MRI and CT scan to be done that morning.

"You can come back to see him after the tests, okay?" she said to Jason. "We have to take him down in a few minutes."

"Sure. I'll be in the waiting room, okay? See you soon, bro." He patted Tommy's hand.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Jason's home away from home, aka the ICU Waiting Room, was still pretty full when he returned from visiting Tommy. Zack, Billy, Kat, and Trini were talking to Sam and David who had stayed after leaving Tommy's room. The Olivers, as usual, were nowhere to be found.

"Hey David, Mr. Trueheart. I'm glad you're still here," Jason said.

"We thought we would hang around and visit with Tommy as much as we could. Is he still okay?" David asked.

"Yeah, he seems fine—just weak. He got into a coughing fit that hurt quite a bit, though."

"Oh?"

"It's just the ribs. I know what that feels like," Jason said, remembering the last time he had been laid up with cracked ribs.

Jason felt feminine arms encircle his shoulders as a familiar voice said, "Hi Honey!"

He smiled broadly and turned his head. "Hi Mom!"

She laid a big smooch on his cheek and got a bigger hug in return.

"It's so nice to have you home, baby. Oh, hi everyone!"

"Hello Mrs. Scott," they all chimed in.

She looked over at the two men whom she presumed to be Tommy's birth family.

"Mom, this is Mr. Sam Trueheart, Tommy's great-uncle and this is David, Tommy's brother."

Mrs. Scott was clearly taken aback at the resemblance.

"My goodness, there's certainly no denying that you and Tommy are brothers, is there?"

David smiled. "No ma'am, I guess not."

"They're both the spitting image of their father, Joseph—my nephew," Sam interjected.

Kat smiled brightly. "Tommy's father's name was Joseph? _My_ father's name is Joseph—what a coincidence!"

"Isn't that somethin'!" Tanya said.

"I can't wait to take Tommy to our next family get-together. There are so many aunts, uncles, and cousins for him to meet."

"Yes, and many of them are very anxious to see Tommy. He was lost to us for so many years," Sam said.

"Yeah, since he was barely a year old," David added, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I'm sure he'll enjoy the reunion. He's always wanted a big family," said Jason.

A nurse had walked into the room and looked around for a minute before spotting someone she recognized—Jason. She moved through the crowded room toward him.

"Excuse me, Jason?"

Jason turned to see one of the ICU nurses he'd become so well acquainted with.

"Yes?" he asked apprehensively. The last time a nurse had come looking for him it had been one of the scariest experiences of his life.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure. Is Tommy okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. He's down in Radiology at the moment."

"I'll be right back guys," he said and got up to accompany the nurse out into the hallway.

Even though she had said that Tommy was alright, the group still watched anxiously as Jason talked with the nurse. A couple of minutes later, the former red ranger returned and alleviated their fears.

"He's fine, he's just a little freaked out by the MRI because it's a closed machine. They don't have one of the 'open air' models here."

They all looked at him quizzically.

"Tommy's claustrophobic—didn't you know that?"

"No", "You're kidding", "Oh, I see" were some of the replies.

"Well anyway, the doctor doesn't want him sedated because he wants to make sure they get the correct readings. They've tried to put him in there twice and he's freaked out both times."

"Where are the Olivers?" David asked.

"God knows," Jason said with more than a little disgust in his voice. "But he doesn't want them—he's asking for me. I'm gonna go try to calm him down. I'll be back when the tests are over."

He kissed his mom and left the room to follow the nurse to the Radiology department.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Downstairs, Tommy was lying on a gurney in the holding area of Radiology. When Jason got there, he was still shaking and grasping the side rails. A nurse was gently talking to him, trying to calm him down.

"Bro, what's the matter?" Jason asked soothingly as he stroked Tommy's forehead.

"I-I can't go in that thing," he said breathlessly. "It's so tight."

"I've been in one of them, Tommy. It's not that bad."

"It's a fuckin' torpedo tube, Jase. Tell them not to put me in there--please. I can't do it." He was getting really worked up. His big brown eyes were wide with fear and he had gone very pale.

"Tommy, you have to have these tests done. There's no way around it," his bro answered. "I'll be there with you if you want."

"Can they knock me out?"

"No. The doctor is afraid the results won't be as accurate. He wants you awake."

Tommy sighed deeply. "Great. It's not that I don't want to—I can't!"

The nurse came over and said, "This should help, but you've gotta try to calm down, okay?"

She gave him an injection that would, hopefully, sedate him just enough to get through the test.

"I can't give you any more than that, though."

Tommy said he would try his best and they moved him back into the room that contained the dreaded machine.

"Just keep your eyes closed, okay bro? I'm right here."

When the orderlies shifted him from the gurney to the MRI table, Tommy let out a hoarse yelp and a few choice words of the four letter variety. His ribcage was extremely tender and the pain killers were wearing off.

"Easy Tommy, just breathe," Jason said.

The technician positioned him just right and told him to try not to move.

"Easier said than done," Tommy said in a shaky, barely audible voice.

The table began to move into the tube-shaped machine and Tommy immediately reached for his bro. Jason couldn't help but smile—it felt good to once again be there for Tommy when he needed him. Grasping his hand tightly, Jason reassured him that he was right there beside him and he wasn't going anywhere.

"Don't move, bro. Just lie still and try to relax, okay? Listen to my voice . . ."

The table stopped moving when Tommy's head and shoulders were inside the machine.

"It's okay—you're fine. Just keep your eyes closed. It'll be over before you know it."

Jason continued talking, reminding Tommy of things they had done in the past and possibilities for the future now that he had made the decision to stay in Angel Grove.

Jason just kept talking and rubbing Tommy's arm. He interlaced their fingers and held on tight. Tommy was fairly relaxed—much better than he had been before—but he still tensed up when the machine's rotation would bring part of it closer to his ears.

His eyes stayed shut tight, but his other senses were on full alert.

MRIs take a long time, but _finally_ it was over. The table began moving out of the machine and Tommy heard Jason say, "It's over now. You can open your eyes."

He blinked a couple of times and looked up into those midnight eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Jase."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for," his best friend replied warmly.

Next was the CT scan. Not as bad claustrophobia-wise, but still uncomfortable for someone in as much pain as Tommy. The red ranger insisted on Jason staying right beside him for this test too, and his bro was only too happy to oblige him.

Sometime during the course of the test, Tommy's body shifted in a painful way and he suddenly cried out, startling his friend and the technician.

"Oh baby, are you okay?" Jason blurted out before he realized what he was saying.

'_Shit. Did he hear that?'_

"Mmmmmh," Tommy moaned, indicating that he was conscious, but not comfortable.

"It'll be over soon, just hang on," the tech said when she realized that her patient was distressed.

Jason had been momentarily lost in thought over his slip of the lip. Finally, he regained himself and returned to trying to distract Tommy from the pain and anxiety he was feeling by chattering almost nonstop. It was a good thing he liked to talk.

When both tests were mercifully over, Tommy was placed back on the gurney to be taken back up to his room. Jason walked with him and stayed in his field of vision, if not in actual physical contact. While they were on the elevator, the male orderly looked from one of them to the other and back again. Jason noticed him doing this and cautiously met his gaze.

'_Damn, I'm being obvious, aren't I? I wonder if he knows? He's laughing at me, I just know it. Don't say anything. Please don't say anything.'_

The orderly, a nice looking young man of about 25, just smiled at Jason when he saw how tense he had suddenly become. He looked down at Tommy and then back at Jason and smiled as if to say, 'It's cool.' Jason could feel the corners of his mouth turning up a little as a smile began. This guy could tell how Jason felt about Tommy, but wasn't the slightest bit put off by it.

'_That is so cool,'_ Jason thought.

They arrived back at the ICU floor and once Tommy was back in his room, Jason went to let everyone know that the tests were over and he had done fine.

Kat, Tanya, and Trini were all grinning at him when he came back in--the kind of grin that makes a guy uncomfortable.

"What?" he said and was tempted to check his fly.

"Well, we actually get to give _you_ some news this time, Mr. Scott," Kat said, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

"Oh? And just what would that be?"

"The Olivers came by a few minutes ago to tell us that Tommy's doctor has decided to move him out of ICU and into a private room—provided his test results come out okay."

"That's great! Tom will be glad to hear that. Now he can have as many visitors at a time as he wants."

"Yeah. And he's one step closer to getting out of here!" Trini said with a smile.

"How'd the tests go, Jason?" Mrs. Scott asked.

"Oh, pretty well . . . once he calmed down, that is. He had just about worked himself up into an anxiety attack when I got down there."

"What did you do?" Tanya asked.

"I just held his hand and talked to him about stuff we used to do and what we're gonna do when he gets out of the hospital."

"And that worked? Just like that?" a surprised Kat asked.

"Yep, just like that," Jason said, a note of superiority in his voice.

He had been told by numerous friends of Kat's apparent crush on Tommy and that her intentions toward him had become more obvious since Kim dumped him and broke his heart. She was always around, talking to him and touching him—or so he'd been told.

'_I'd better keep an eye on her—I'm not giving up now.'_

Kat _was_ pretty—anyone could see that—and she actually seemed nice, but you can never tell. Jason decided to try to get some indication from Tommy concerning his feelings for and about her.

Later that day, thanks to his doctor and some satisfactory test results, Tommy was indeed moved to a private room. This meant that there were no specific visiting hours—well, except for prior to 6 am and after 9 pm. And he could have as many of his friends around at a time as he wished. That was the best part for the gang—in the ICU the rule was one or two at a time—no more. Not that they were planning to throw a party in the hospital. That would come after he got out.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Jason walked in to the new room for the first time shortly after the nurses got Tommy settled.

"Hey bro, where you been?" Tommy asked, voice still weak-sounding.

"Getting some dinner downstairs while I waited for you to get settled in here. Have you eaten yet?"

"No. They should be bringing it soon, though. Food downstairs any good?"

"Eh . . . it's a little better than the school cafeteria—marginally."

Tommy wrinkled his nose. "Yuck. I wonder if the stuff they bring me will be any better."

Jason grinned. "I just can't wait to get my hands on one of Ernie's smoothies. I had dreams about them while I was in Switzerland. Them and Mom's cooking."

'_. . . And you wouldn't believe what other dreams I had!'_

A few choice scenes from one of his more erotic fantasies suddenly flashed through his mind as he sat looking at Tommy only a couple of feet away. He shook his head as if to clear it. Tommy gave him an odd look.

Jason smiled and turned away, "Just thinking about something . . ."

"You haven't been to see Ernie since you got home?"

"No, I haven't been much of anywhere yet. Just home for half an hour and out to the rez to find David and Sam."

Tommy looked at him. "You've been to your house for more than half an hour, I know." He paused. "Haven't you?"

"No, I haven't," Jason said seriously.

"How long have I been in here, Jase?" He seemed a little confused and understandably so.

"Today is the fifth day."

"You're telling me that you've been home for half an hour in 5 days? What about at night?"

Jason just shook his head. "Nope."

Tommy's eyes widened. "Then where . . ." he began but was cut off by another coughing fit. His lungs were still trying to clear themselves. He grabbed the small pillow the nurse had given him and clutched it to his chest as he coughed. The nurse had told him that it would help. It did, although only just a little.

He took a ragged breath. "Damn it," he croaked. Jason gave him a drink of water and that seemed to help more.

"You okay, bro?"

"Yeah," he said in a strained voice. "Where have you been sleeping, Jase? Zack's? Billy's?"

"Uh . . . not exactly."

Tommy fixed him with a serious look.

"Okay, fine . . . I've been sleeping here, alright?"

"Here? Where?" Tommy was clearly not going to let this go.

"In the ICU Waiting Room."

"Jason! You didn't have to do that!" He couldn't believe that his friend would put himself through something like that for him.

"I know, but I didn't want to leave you. Not after coming thousands of miles to be near you when you were hurt. I was afraid that something might . . . happen if I left." Jason cast his eyes down.

Tommy reached over and touched his hand. "Bro, will you be honest with me?"

Jason glanced up to find Tommy looking at him very seriously.

'_What's he thinking? What does he want to know? Can I be truly be honest with him?'_

"S-sure. What?" Jason asked a bit apprehensively.

"How bad was I? I know I was out for quite a while, but . . ." He really didn't know how to ask.

'_Should I tell him? What if his parents don't want him to know?'_

"What did they tell you?"

"I know that I was in Intensive Care . . . for four days, if my math's right. I was unconscious until this morning, right? Was it this morning?"

Jason nodded.

"Was I in a coma or something?"

Jason nodded again.

Tommy swallowed hard. "Okay . . . why?"

"Most probably because of the head injury." Jason looked away for a moment.

'_Should I tell him?'_

He decided that Tommy had a right to know. _'Hope I don't regret this.'_

"You were pretty bad off for a while, bro. Very 'touch and go'."

Tommy paused. "Meaning . . .?" He suddenly wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Well . . . you nearly _died_, Tommy."

The red ranger felt his insides twist. He became very weak sounding all of a sudden. "Seriously?"

Jason just nodded slowly.

"Am I okay now? Am I going to recover?"

"Yes, you are," Jason said resolutely. "Remember the tests earlier? The results were really good—that's why you're here instead of ICU."

With that, Tommy seemed to relax a little. Jason squeezed his hand.

"You're going to be fine, bro. Don't worry."

Tommy smiled at him weakly. "Have I mentioned how glad I am that you're home?"

"Once or twice . . ."

_________________________________________________________________

_Author's Notes: Yea! Tommy's awake! Now please make he and I both happy and leave a review!! It's that little button right down there . . . _


	9. Sorting Out Feelings

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Chapter 9—Sorting Out Feelings**

Day 6—Thursday

Tommy woke mid-morning feeling like the floor of a taxi cab. His first evening in a private room had not gone very well. He had eaten the dinner they had brought him, but despite the fact that it had been bland and light, his stomach just wasn't up to solid food yet. All of it had come back up not long after it had gone down and the physical strain of throwing up had made his head throb and his chest ache. He was left weaker than before. Poor Jason had stayed as long as they would let him, forcing Tommy to drink water and juice since he couldn't eat. Mr. and Mrs. Scott came by to visit and give Jason a ride and he finally went home to sleep in his own bed at last.

Tommy's parents had already been by this morning and now Tommy was left alone with his thoughts. He still felt uneasy about being alone. He couldn't understand why that was—he had never been that way before.

The TV was on showing some nauseating soap opera, so he grabbed the remote and began flipping through the channels.

'_I wonder if I can get ESPN?'_

Tommy wasn't expecting to see Jason before lunchtime at the earliest because he was going to A.G.H. this morning to register for classes. He had made up his mind not to go back to Switzerland. Tommy was still quite pleased about that—he had really missed Jase while he was gone. More than he had expected to, if the truth be known. His quick visits home had always been too short and it seemed that the monster du jour would always try to interrupt their plans to get together. Being an active ranger had its drawbacks, that was certain. The calls and emails back and forth had helped—their friendship had stayed as strong as ever--but they missed each other terribly. On the occasions that they had gotten to spend time together, Tommy had noticed something different about their relationship. At first, he had chalked it up to mere excitement over seeing each other again, but he quickly found that it was more than that.

He would get knots in his stomach before he saw Jase in anticipation of the looks and the embrace that he would receive from his bro. He found himself primping in front of the mirror and taking a long time to pick out clothes before they would meet up. It was disconcerting at first, when he realized he was doing this. After all, he didn't put that much effort into a date with Kim. But seeing Jase wasn't a date . . . or was it? He didn't know anymore.

Tommy glanced at the TV that had suddenly gotten louder.

'_Why are the commercials always so freakin' loud?'_

He grabbed the remote to turn it down. This particular annoying ad was about new lakefront homes for sale. One shot of the lake reminded Tommy of his favourite spot—the one where the gang liked to play volleyball, have picnics, and swim. His most recent, and most vivid, memory of that place began to play in his mind.

It was during the summer that had just passed. Tommy and his friends had planned a cookout at the lake—a whole day of just hanging out, eating too much, maybe playing some ultimate Frisbee, etc. One thing was going to make it extra-special: Jason would be there. He was home for a quick summer visit before he had to return to Switzerland and everyone was excited about the planned get-together. Then everything seemed to start falling apart.

First, a major storm system was forecast to hit the area that very day bringing rain and lots of wind. Second, Zack, who was also home, was informed by his parents that he had to go to a family reunion that weekend—no weaselling out of it. Third, Kim and Tanya both had things come up that they supposedly couldn't avoid. Tommy was perturbed at Kim about her excuse—he thought the meeting with her gymnastics coach could be rescheduled. She seemed to be afraid to stand up to that man and it irked Tommy. But things hadn't been going all that great with the 'happy couple' lately anyway. They bickered and fought a lot—Kim accused Tommy of being pigheaded and unreasonable and Tommy said that Kim was moody, bitchy, and taking him for granted. They were both probably right—to a degree.

"Don't you want to hang out with Jase? He's only going to be home for a little while," he had asked her, getting highly annoyed.

"Of course I do, but I'll see him while he's here. Besides, he's really only interested in seeing you, it seems. You're the only one he calls or emails," Kim had shot back.

That comment had stopped Tommy's mini-rant right there. He hadn't thought about it that way—but she was right.

"I'll try to move the meeting to the late afternoon, okay? That way, I can still come," Kim offered.

In the end, things worked out pretty well. The weather held, Kim and Tanya were able to put in an appearance, and everyone really had a good time. Adam and Rocky were getting to know Jason better and they all seemed to get along great. Tommy was glad to see that. They all ate way too much, especially Rocky. Afterward, they played some football on the beach. Tommy particularly remembered being tackled a couple of times by Jase. As they laughed and untangled themselves, their eyes locked and they froze momentarily. They both passed it off, though.

Later, while they were all swimming, the boys had gotten into a dunking contest. Tommy and Jason had ganged up on Adam and Rocky and with their greater size had won the advantage. Then Jason turned on Tommy and, with a full-body tackle, took him down easily. Maybe Tommy was imagining things, but Jason seemed to hang on a little longer than necessary. He learned one thing though—he didn't mind the feeling of Jason's hands on his body.

Maybe Kim had hit upon something. But was he just misinterpreting Jason's actions?

'_He's always been rather touchy-feely,'_ he had thought. _'If I'm wrong . . . I could make a serious fool out of myself.'_

The afternoon had wrapped up with them sunbathing, listening to music, and just talking. Jason had been taking pictures all afternoon with the new camera that his parents had given him when he got home. He asked Tommy to pose for him, so Tommy rolled up on his side and propped himself up on one elbow. He tossed his finally dry hair out of his face and smiled his best. Jason told him that that picture turned out to be one of his favourites. Tommy took a few good pics of Jason too—he had one of them framed beside his bed at home.

There had just been something about that day that had been different for Tommy. It had served to reinforce those fledgling feelings that he had begun to have for his best friend. In a way, he had felt guilty and ashamed for having those feelings. He _was_ still dating Kim at the time, but he just couldn't help what he truly felt inside. But as Jason was in Switzerland most of the year, he didn't think it was going to cause a problem at the time. But now . . .

His feelings had gotten so jumbled up between Kim dumping him, Kat joining the team and becoming interested in him, missing his best friend and trying to decide how he felt about him, and he had been noticing someone else on his team . . . and it wasn't Kat or Tanya. It had disturbed Tommy when he realized it was happening, but the fact was . . . he had caught himself watching this particular person work out and spar and he liked what he saw. He watched his lithe body move gracefully and his curly hair bouncing playfully as he moved around the mats. There had even been occasions when, during a sparring session, one of them would land on the other and they would look into each other's eyes momentarily. Both would smile nervously and play it off.

'_Adam.'_

He actually had no intention of pursuing anything with his second in command—he could be wrong, but he didn't think Adam thought of him that way. But his casual attraction to the green zeo ranger had helped to bring into sharp focus his deeper, more intense feelings for one Jason Lee Scott. Tommy was still fighting putting a label on his feelings or, indeed, on himself, but deep down he knew. Question was: How did Jason really feel about him? Did he even have a chance? He seemed to be giving Tommy some good signs, but . . . Tommy didn't trust his judgement right now. He needed to think about it a while longer and see how his bro acted toward him.

Orientation wasn't the problem. He had known Jason was bi since last Christmas when the former red ranger had chosen to drop that particular bomb during a trip home. Getting lost in thought again, Tommy remembered the scene as if it were yesterday . . .

Jason had invited him over to the Scotts' home on Christmas Day to have dinner with his family. They spent quite a while talking and catching each other up on what had been going on in their lives. They exchanged gifts and ate way too much of Mrs. Scott's excellent cooking. After dinner, the boys slowly climbed the stairs to Jason's bedroom and laid around lamenting eating so much. Tommy noticed that Jason seemed a little preoccupied. They hadn't been talking about anything in particular, let alone serious, when Jason suddenly looked at Tommy intently.

"Bro, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure. You know you can." Tommy propped himself up on the bed and watched Jason closely.

"I can't talk to our friends about this and I certainly can't talk to my parents, so . . ."

"Jase, I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything."

"Promise you'll hear me out and not let what I'm going to say change our friendship?"

Tommy was surprised. _'What could be this serious that Jason would be so worried?'_

"I promise, bro."

Jason took a steadying breath and began.

"Tommy, while I've been in Switzerland I've come to accept something about myself. I fought it at first, but I found that denying it only made it worse." He hung his head and stopped for a minute. Tommy thought that he looked nervous.

'_Why would he be so afraid to tell me something? He's never been like this before.'_

"I feel like I'm lying to you by not coming clean and telling you. I mean, we share everything, right?"

"Right."

"So, I've gotta tell you." He paused and took a deep breath. "Tommy, I'm bi."

He watched Tommy's face intently to measure his reaction. Tommy's eyes widened a bit, but he managed to keep from looking utterly surprised. Actually, he didn't know why, but he _wasn't_ that surprised. And it didn't matter to him in the slightest.

"Really? Okay," was all that he could think to say.

"Okay? You're not freaked out, disgusted, or at least shocked?"

"Maybe a little surprised, but that's all. Jason, you're the best friend I've ever had—I'll accept you regardless." Tommy gave him a warm smile.

Jason returned the smile and got up from his chair to join Tommy on the bed. He placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, man. You don't know how much this means to me. It's so good to have someone I know I can talk to." He hugged Tommy tight.

"So . . . is there a 'lucky guy' in Switzerland?"

Jason grinned. "Ehh, sort of. We'll see."

Tommy wondered if this realization had happened all at once in Switzerland or if he had been fighting this before he left. He had a reason for asking—he was fighting the same thing.

"Jase, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Have you been having these feelings for a while, or just since you went to the Peace Conference?"

Jason thought before speaking again. "Well, I think I've had these feelings for a while, even if I didn't understand what they were at first. When I realized what it could mean, I immediately tried to suppress them and just ignore it. It didn't work. I even tried dating different girls, hoping that the attraction I felt toward guys would just go away." He sighed deeply. "It didn't happen. Finally, I just had to accept that this is the way I am. I truly feel a lot better since—but it doesn't make telling my friends and family any easier."

"Who else knows, Jase?"

"Just Zack and Trini, and a couple of friends in Switzerland."

"You haven't told your parents, then?"

"No, I'm not exactly sure how they'd take it. I'm sure Mom would be upset—she's always wanted a daughter-in-law and grandkids!"

Tommy laughed. "Jase, you've only just turned 17!"

"I know, but she's made no secret about it since I've been old enough to date!" Jason smiled back. Then his face became serious again.

"And Dad . . . well . . . he's an ex-Marine, ya know. He won't accept me being with another man. I just know it."

"Hmmm, yeah. I see what you mean. Best to keep it on the downlow, then."

Jason looked solemn and slowly nodded.

Tommy had promised not to tell anyone and he had been true to his word . . . even when he was semi-interrogated by Adam.

Shaking himself from his memories, Tommy laughed.

'_I'm beginning to think that Rocky, Billy, and Zack are the only completely straight male rangers in history! And Zack is highly questionable . . .'_

___________________________________________________________________________

Sometime later, Tommy felt someone holding his hand and rubbing his arm.

"Mmmmmm . . . mmmm," he moaned sleepily. He slowly opened his eyes to find Jason sitting in the chair next to the bed, smiling at him.

"Hey Sleepyhead."

"Mornin'," Tommy replied with a yawn.

"Actually, it's afternoon."

"Really?" Tommy glanced up at the clock, wondering how long he'd been asleep.

"I wanted to get here before the others got out of school so we could hang out—just the two of us. I meant to be here earlier than this, though. Sorry. How're you feeling today?"

"Better than yesterday. I was kinda rough this morning, but I'm a little better now. Did you get registered?"

"Yeah, not a problem."

"Do we have any classes together?"

"Yep, sure do—History, English, and Trig."

Tommy's eyes widened. "3 out of 4, huh? That's cool." Tommy was really excited—he had so missed having his bro in class with him.

"Who did you bribe?" Tommy asked.

"Bribery? Me?" Jason faked a hurt look. "Would I do that?"

"Absolutely. Answer my question, Scott," Tommy shot back.

Jason grinned. "Ok, ok . . . I sorta told Kaplan that I would play baseball in the Spring."

Jason was an excellent all-around athlete and the principal, Mr. Kaplan, knew a good thing when he saw it.

"Besides, I told him that you were going to need a little help getting caught up and I could help you more if we were in the same classes."

Tommy eyed him suspiciously. "Uh huh. Okay."

A sly grin spread across his face and then it migrated over to Jason's face.

"Anyway, I slept longer than I meant to and Mom didn't want to wake me up," he offered as an explanation of why he was so late.

Honestly, Jason was glad his mom had let him sleep in. It was the first good night's sleep he'd gotten in weeks. Being home in his own big, comfortable bed and having his mind at ease over Tommy's condition—not to mention sheer exhaustion—had all contributed to Jason's long slumber.

"So, how do you think you're going to like being back in boring ol' Angel Grove?" Tommy asked. "I don't think it can compare to Geneva, Switzerland. The scenery there is so gorgeous." Jason had sent him lots of pictures with his regular emails.

'_Hmm . . . I think the scenery _here_ is pretty damn awesome!'_ he thought, smiling at his bro.

"Oh, I'm happy with my decision to stay—no regrets. I've missed this old town."

"Really?" He paused. "Seriously?" Tommy liked Angel Grove just fine—it was a lot better than L.A.—but to prefer it over somewhere as exotic as Switzerland? He wasn't buying it.

"Jason . . . I know how much you enjoy being a part of the Peace Conference and meeting all those people from so many different places. Be honest . . . why aren't you going back?" Tommy had fixed him with a serious look.

'_Damn, he knows me too well. What do I say? I can't tell him that he's the reason.'_

He decided to hedge. "Seriously bro—I just got homesick. I missed my family and my friends. I missed AGH and the Youth Center. I've had my adventure and now I just wanna be home. Why is that so hard to believe?"

What he said wasn't untrue; it just wasn't the whole truth. Tommy was eyeing him suspiciously again.

"Well . . . okay. If you say so." Tommy wasn't really convinced. There was just something about the look in his eyes, but he decided not to press things right now.

They changed the subject and talked about school, friends, ranger business, etc. until a nurse poked her head in the door.

"Oh, you're awake, Mr. Oliver. Good. Are you hungry?"

"A little, I guess, but my stomach still hurts."

"Would you like to try some Jello or some applesauce?"

"Which one hurts less coming back up?" Tommy asked, deadpan.

"Tommy . . ." Jason said, shaking his head at his bro.

"Well . . . I think it's a legitimate question considering yesterday," Tommy replied, sounding almost indignant.

The nurse listened sympathetically, but was clearly a bit amused by the exchange.

"Umm, let's try some Jello. It turns to liquid in your stomach almost immediately. Orange or strawberry?"

"Strawberry, I guess," Tommy answered, unenthused.

"Okay, be right back," she said as she turned to leave.

Picking up one of his IV lines, Tommy looked at Jason.

"_This_ is actually my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What I wouldn't give for some sushi or one of Ernie's house special smoothies!" He had such a look of longing on his face that Jason thought he was going to break out into a full-blown pout.

"As soon as you're up to it . . . whatever you want, my treat," Jason told him softly.

"Whatever I want?" He raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He shot a grin at Jason that made his insides flutter.

'_Shit . . . is he flirting with me?!' _He wasn't sure.

"I was referring to food, of course," Jason said with a mischievous grin.

Tommy matched his look. "Of course . . ."

'_Oh my god, he _is_ flirting!'_ Jason felt a rush of excitement surge through his body. He decided to push the envelope just a _little_ further.

"You know what I'm _really_ looking forward to?" Jason began.

"What's that, bro?"

"Working out with you. You know, sparring and . . . stuff." The corners of his mouth curled up with that last comment and he looked intently at Tommy.

'_What exactly does he mean by that, I wonder . . .'_

". . . and stuff?" he questioned. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Oh . . . I'll think of something," Jason said through a thoroughly sexy grin.

'_This is too good to be true—I don't believe this!' _Tommy thought. _'Okay, be cool Oliver.'_

He smiled his best sexy smile and said, "Mmmm . . . sounds interesting. Maybe we can come up with some ideas together?"

"Works for me, bro," Jason answered.

Tommy was just in the middle of a flirty smile when a coughing fit hit him. He grabbed his pillow and hugged it to his chest, but it wasn't helping much. He gasped for breath and tried his best to stop coughing. The pained expression on his face made Jason hurt too.

He had jumped up, wanting to help, but he didn't know what to do. He placed a hand on his bro's chest and another on his head.

"Easy, Tommy. Breathe," he said in a low, soothing voice.

"Trying," Tommy managed to gasp out.

Finally, it passed and he was able to breathe deep without hacking. "Damn it. That really hurts," he moaned.

"I know. I remember. Are you okay now?" he asked, while remaining where he was. He rubbed Tommy's chest lightly and looked at him with concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry I worried you."

Jason smiled. "It's okay."

He was in no hurry to move away or take his hands from Tommy's chest—a fact that was not lost on Tommy. He smiled up at him.

Tommy was just about to reach for Jason's hand when the nurse returned with the Jello.

"Ready to try this?" she asked.

They both jumped a bit at the sound of her voice—neither had heard the door open.

"Oh . . . did I startle you? I'm sorry," she said sweetly. Even she, a complete stranger, could see the bond between them.

"It's okay," Jason said to the pretty redhead. "Bro, you ready to eat?"

Tommy wrinkled his nose. "I suppose so. I just hope it stays down."

"One way to find out." Jason handed Tommy the plastic container and spoon that he had taken from the nurse.

"Want me to feed you?" Jason asked with a grin.

Tommy shot him a look. "No. I think I can handle Jello."

Forty-five minutes later, Tommy was actually feeling a bit better. He had managed to keep something on his stomach and the sugar had given him a little energy. Good thing, too. The entire gang started showing up for a visit just about then. Tommy enjoyed their company, but he grew tired quickly, so they all left to let him get some rest. Everyone promised to see him tomorrow.

Jason stayed as long as he could, but he was starting his classes at AGH the next day and he had to get some things ready. Most of his clothes and all of his school things were still half way around the world, so he had to go shopping.

That night, Jason finally called Jacques to let him know what was going on.

"Hello?" came the thick Quebecois accent.

"Jacques? It's Jason."

"Jason! I've been so worried! How are you?" He paused in case the news wasn't good. "How is Tommy?"

"I'm fine—now. Tommy is finally doing better. It was bad for a while, Jacques."

"Ah, I see," he said with a voice full of compassion. "But . . . he's better now?"

"Yeah. He's finally out of Intensive Care."

"What happened, Jason? If you don't mind me asking . . ."

Jason sighed heavily. "Well, you remember me telling you about the series of attacks that have been happening in our town, right?"

"Yes."

"Tommy and another friend of ours, Adam, were trapped in a building when it collapsed during one of those attacks."

"Oh no . . ."

"Yeah. Tommy was nearly crushed under a support beam when part of the roof came down. He had broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a pretty bad head injury."

"Oh Jason . . . damn."

"He was in a coma for several days—he nearly died—but, thank God, he's doing better now. He's awake and he seems fine—just sore from the ribs and the surgery."

"Thank God for that. How are _you_? It must have been terrible to see your baby like that?"

Jason sighed again. A picture of Tommy in the recovery room flashed through his mind.

"To be honest, it was pure hell. I thought I was going to fall apart there for a while. If not for my friends . . . I don't know what I would have done."

"I'm sure. I'm so glad to hear that everything is going to be okay. Is there anything I can do for you here—until you get back?"

"Well . . . Jacques . . ." he began, but his roomie seemed to already know.

"You're not coming back, are you Jason?"

"No, I'm not. I'm sorry Jacques, but . . . I just can't leave him. I came sooo close to losing him completely that . . . I just can't."

Jacques smiled—he understood. "It's okay, Jase. I mean, I'll miss you, but . . . I know how much Tommy means to you. Are things working out okay between you?"

"They're starting to, yeah." Jason smiled broadly as he remembered Tommy flirting with him earlier. "He's starting to come around, I think."

Jason could hear the big grin on Jacques' face as he said, "Excellent. I wish you two all the best, mon ami. I want to see some pictures, okay?"

"Sure thing, buddy. Thank you for everything. I'll bet you're finally getting some sleep now that I'm not waking you up every other night, huh?"

"Yeah, but I miss you anyway."

"I miss you too, Jacques. I wish we could visit each other sometime."

"We can. I only live in Quebec. Maybe we can get together over the summer."

"That would be great! Until then, we'll email."

"You got it. I still want to meet that hottie and his gorgeous brother!"

Jason burst out laughing. "Not a problem!"

With more promises to stay in touch, they hung up, leaving Jason alone in his room. He'd start classes at his old high school the next day and he desperately needed some sleep. The framed picture of Tommy on his night table was the last thing he saw as he drifted off to sleep.

____________________________________________________________________________

_Author's Notes: So this was a little more background. Now we know that Tommy has at least entertained the idea of having something with Jason, but can they take that huge step? Next chapter: What actually happened during the accident? Don't forget that little Review button down there!!_


	10. Recalling a Horrible Afternoon

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** So what actually happened during the accident? Only Adam knows for sure and it's tearing him up inside.

**Chapter 10—Recalling a Horrible Afternoon**

Day 7—Friday

Tommy awoke the next morning to find his room decorated with flowers, balloons, and cards. The word had, apparently, gotten out that he was in a private room now and was allowed to have them. His mom let him know who they were all from. It was nice to be remembered. Both of his parents' offices had sent something, and the administration of AGH had as well. The big, colourful bouquet of balloons was from his English teacher, Mrs. Applebee. Even good ol' Ernie had sent some flowers along with a handwritten coupon for a month's worth of free smoothies. Tommy's stomach growled just thinking about it.

All was quiet—and rather boring—until about 3:30. School was out now and Tommy was anticipating visits from his friends—especially Jason. He was anxious to hear how his first day went.

Finally, the door opened and it wasn't a nurse coming in to poke and prod him some more. It was a certain dark haired, dark eyed, good-looking thing named Jason Lee Scott. Tommy's insides fluttered when he saw him—he was so handsome standing there in his jeans and black turtleneck holding . . . _a teddy bear_?

"Hey bro! How're you feeling today?" the teddy bear bearer said brightly.

Tommy grinned at him. "I'm okay. Been kinda bored lying here by myself all day, though. How was school?"

"It was okay—nothing unexpected. I'd rather have been up here hanging out with you, though. I thought you might be lonely."

Tommy glanced down at the stuffed animal that was missing an eye and looking rather worn. "Who's your friend?"

Jason laughed. "Well . . ."

Tommy thought he seemed embarrassed.

"His name is Cocoa—I've had him since I was 3. He's kept me company a lot of times when _I_ was lonely, so I thought you could keep him for a little while. He's been sitting on a shelf for quite a while now."

Tommy didn't know whether to giggle at Jason or hug the stuffings out of him for being so sweet. He looked like such a big kid standing there cradling that bear. This big, tough guy was truly a romantic at heart, it seemed.

Tommy shook his head at him and gave him a warm, sincere smile. "Thank you, Jason. I'll take good care of him, I promise."

He took the little chocolate-coloured bear from Jason and put him on the bed next to him, rubbing his head.

Not long after, Adam came in. Tommy became immediately concerned as soon as he saw the green ranger's face. He looked tired, upset, and very serious.

"Adam, what's wrong?"

"Tommy, I need to talk to you."

"Sure. What's goin' on, man?"

Jason suddenly felt in the way. "I'll go and leave you two alone for a while, okay?"

Adam grabbed his arm to stop him, though. "No, Jase. Stay. Please?"

Jason nodded and sat back down and looked questioningly at Tommy as Adam pulled up one of the big chairs. Tommy shrugged.

Adam sat down heavily in the chair and stared at the floor—he appeared to be gathering himself for something. Tommy and Jason exchanged another concerned look.

Finally, the dark curly head lifted and his dark eyes fixed Tommy with a sad look. After a heavy sigh, he tried to begin.

"Tommy, first of all, I have to tell you how happy and thoroughly relieved I am that you're okay. These last few days have been hellish for all of us . . ." He glanced over at Jason's concerned face. ". . . especially Jason. But the guilt I have over the whole thing is tearing me up inside. The nightmares are getting to be too much. I talked to Mr. Goodrich, the school counsellor, about it and he said that I needed to clear the air with you before I would get any real peace."

He reached up and took Tommy's hand in his own. "Tommy, I know you don't remember anything about the accident, but . . ." a tear began to trickle down his face. ". . . it's my fault that you're in here—that you got hurt to begin with. Can you ever forgive me?"

Tommy squeezed his hand. "Adam, I don't remember anything about the accident, but I know one thing—you're wrong. It's _not_ your fault. If it's anybody's fault it's Mondo's!"

Adam sniffled. "But Tommy, if you hadn't moved to shove me out of the way you wouldn't have gotten crushed by that beam!"

Jason spoke up, seeing that Tommy was trying to take in what Adam was saying.

"Adam, we had this discussion the day of the accident. We help each other—that's what we do! What Tommy did, he did out of instinct because his friend and teammate was in danger. Wouldn't you have done the same thing?"

"Yeah, what he said," Tommy added.

"Of course I would, but . . ." Adam started.

"No buts, Frogboy. There is no guilt to be placed. I don't blame you in the slightest," Tommy said before Adam could finish.

"I just wish these damn nightmares would go away."

"Are they just about what happened during the attack?" Jason asked.

"Yeah. I've had to relive that horrible afternoon nearly every night since it happened."

"Do you think it would help to talk about it? I mean, I don't really know what happened and neither does Tommy, right?" Jason said, looking at his bro. There had been many times that he'd wanted to ask, but it never seemed like the right time.

"No, I have heard very little. I know generally what happened, but not specifics. You're the only one who knows that." He gave his friend a serious look. "Will you tell me, Adam?"

"Are you sure you want to hear this, Tommy? It's not the least bit pleasant," Adam replied with a pained look.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I would really like to know what happened that day."

Adam considered things for a minute. He could tell that Tommy was sincere in his desire to hear about that terrible afternoon, but . . . the pain and emotions were still so raw within him . . . Adam didn't know if he could do it.

Finally, he decided that Tommy had a right to know, so he decided to give it a shot.

"Okay, I'll try."

"Thank you, Adam. I know this can't be easy for you."

Adam gave Tommy a weak smile and took a deep breath. "Well, you know the recently remodelled warehouse district, right?"

Tommy nodded.

"You and I were going to the new theatre down there to see a matinee of some old kung fu movies, but we were early so we were nosing around in some of the stores. While we were in one of them looking at pendants and earrings and stuff, the sirens starting going off.

At first, people were pretty calm—heading for the doors quickly, but not panicking. The owners starting pulling the big metal shutters down and you and I were looking for somewhere to morph without being seen. Then the building started to shake. We could hear the big footsteps of a huge creature coming closer and the floor shook with every step. It must have been very close, because tiles starting falling out of the ceiling and the walls were cracking. Those old buildings down there couldn't take the vibrations. People started running and screaming—there was so much noise and confusion. We were still trying to get people out of the building, so we hadn't morphed yet—there was just no time unless we were going to do it in front of a lot of people."

"So that's why we weren't in uniform and got hurt. I've been wondering about that," Tommy interjected.

He had, of course, been told that, but his memory was leakier than usual.

"Yeah, that's the reason. I wish now that we had gone ahead and morphed regardless, but . . . so anyway, you and I were working our way to the exit. I looked over at you one time and you were carrying a little boy on your hip—I have no idea who he was or what happened to make you pick him up—do you remember that at all?"

Tommy thought for a minute but was coming up blank. He had no recollection of that day at all. "No, I don't. I hope he got out okay."

"Yeah, me too. He couldn't have been more than 4. After that, I remember bigger pieces falling from the ceiling and one of them just missing me. Then I barely heard your voice telling me to move. You were yelling, but it was so loud in there . . . I glanced up and saw a big chunk of the roof coming down." Adam started getting really emotional. His eyes were wide and his voice had become shaky.

"I . . . I just . . . froze. I couldn't move—I don't know why. You dove in my direction and shoved me hard, getting me clear of most of the falling debris. But . . . you weren't so lucky."

Adam dropped his gaze to the floor and breathed deeply. He then tried to continue with the most difficult part.

"Tommy, I heard you scream. Through all that noise and confusion . . . I still heard you scream in pain when that big support beam hit you." He paused and drew a shaky breath.

"I will never forget that. I managed to get free and I crawled over to where I thought you were and I started digging. I was throwing stuff right and left, trying to get to you. I uncovered you as much as I was able, but I couldn't move that beam. I know you were still conscious because I heard you moaning and trying to talk. I could see about half of your face and some of the rest of you, so I managed to hold your hand. You squeezed a little and tried to say something, but you couldn't breathe well. I tried my communicator—something was interfering with the signal because all I got was static. Tommy, you started coughing and choking. Blood was running out of your mouth and then . . . your body just went limp."

Tears started pouring out of Adam and he buried his face in his hands. Jason rubbed his back gently and said, "It's okay now, Adam. He's gonna be fine."

"I thought you were dead!" he sobbed and looked into Tommy's wide eyes. "Oh god, it was horrible!" He stopped and tried to get himself together. After several sombre moments, he continued.

"I felt so helpless—I didn't know what to do. Just then I heard firemen coming toward me and I started yelling and waving my good arm to get their attention. Once they got to me, they radioed for EMTs and started lifting that beam off of you. One of them had found a pulse and told me that you were weak, but still alive. They pulled me away to tend to me, but I only wanted to stay and help you. I must have had a lot of blood on me, because they were really insistent that I let them take me to the hospital. I told them that I would go, but not before you. I saw lots of people being pulled out of that building—some of them in bad shape." He paused. "Some of them covered by white sheets."

Tommy grimaced.

"They finally put you into an ambulance and then I agreed to come to the hospital. After that, we were separated and I didn't see you again until you were in ICU."

"No wonder you were so upset when I saw you in the waiting room," Jason said.

"Yeah. No one would tell me anything! I seriously didn't know, at least for a while, if Tommy was alive or dead."

Tommy had been quiet while Adam was recounting the story. The visual pictures he'd gotten, while not actual memories, were still quite vivid and upsetting. Especially the part about victims covered in white sheets. He cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice.

"Damn, I'm lucky to be alive."

Jason took Tommy by the shoulder. "No, it's not luck . . . you've got someone watching over you."

His bro looked up at him with questioning eyes. "You think so? Really?" He paused and thought. "Like a guardian angel, you mean?"

"Absolutely. Could be your parents, I don't know. Talk to Sam about it when you see him. Are he and David coming by today?"

"Umm, I think so. Did I see them yesterday? Or was it the day before? Damn, I don't know."

"Days kinda runnin' together, huh?" Adam asked.

"Yeah. Visits from you guys are the only thing that keeps me from goin' out of my skull."

"Well, all of your friends want to come by and keep you company," Adam told him with a smile.

"I know, and I appreciate it, too."

"All of your friends have been by—even Bulk and Skull!"

"Seriously? When was that?" Tommy asked in astonishment.

"While you were in ICU. I took them in with me for a minute to see you. Believe it or not, they both behaved themselves and seemed really upset to see you like that. I hate to say it, but it was almost . . . sweet." Jason gave a little shiver at associating the word 'sweet' with Bulk and Skull.

Adam and Tommy gave disbelieving looks that Bulk and Skull could ever be 'sweet'.

Tommy changed the subject back to Adam's self-imposed guilt complex. "So Adam, you do believe me when I say that I don't blame you at all for what happened, right?"

He looked into Tommy's face and saw the friendship and concern there. "Yeah, I suppose so. I just keep wishing there was a way to turn back time and keep any of this from happening. It just hurts me to see you lying here day after day."

"I'll be up and back to normal before long, don't worry. I needed the extra rest anyway," Tommy said trying to lighten Adam's mood.

"If you say so."

Jason spoke up. "Adam, look at me." When the green ranger turned his brown and gold eyes up to meet Jason's, he continued. "It could have been worse, Adam—much worse. He's going to be okay—that's the important thing."

"That's true. I'll just be glad when you're out of here," Adam said to Tommy as he leaned over him and hugged him as tight as he dared.

After a few minutes of them talking about friends and other people at school, Tommy got very quiet all of a sudden. Jason thought that maybe he was starting to feel bad. He reached over and rubbed his shoulder.

"Bro, you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I was just thinking about one person who hasn't been here, but I guess I'm not important enough to her anymore," Tommy said in a depressed tone of voice.

Adam and Jason knew who he meant. Adam shot a look at the former red ranger.

"I guess being in a coma in Intensive Care isn't enough to get her to leave Florida." Tommy closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Jason just looked at the floor.

Adam, seeing it was time for them to talk, rubbed Tommy's arm and gently said, "Falcon, it's okay. I think Jason here has something he wants to tell you. I'll be back later, okay?" He patted Tommy's arm and shot Jason another look.

"See you later, guys," he said as he left.

'_I'll get you for this, Froggy.'_

Jason glanced at Tommy with a guilty look on his face and then looked away. How was he going to explain this without upsetting him?

"What's he talking about, Jase?"

When he didn't answer right away. . . "Jase? Answer me."

After a heavy sigh, Jason sat down in the closest chair and looked intently at Tommy.

"Bro, she _was_ here—for a few days, as a matter of fact."

"She was? I don't remember seeing her. Is my memory _that_ bad?"

"No. You were unconscious. She left before you woke up."

"Why would she come all that way and not hang around to see if I was going to live or die?!"

He was getting upset. Jason knew he had to try to keep him calm or he was going to have a coughing fit or get a splitting headache or both.

"Easy bro, let me explain. You remember me telling you about how we all took nearly round-the-clock shifts sitting with you and talking to you? Well, she was afraid that the sound of her voice would only upset you and not have the desired effect. She probably would have gotten upset while she was with you and that wouldn't have helped. So she decided to go back to Florida and Trini and Tanya have been keeping her up to date on how you're doing."

Tommy sat in stunned silence for a moment.

'_She was here? She does care?'_

"Oh," was all he could manage.

Jason wasn't sure how much more he should say. They sat quietly for several moments.

"Bro, is there something you're not telling me?"

Jason really wished that Tommy couldn't read him like a Dr. Seuss book.

"What do you mean, Tommy?" Jason tried in vain to be evasive.

"Oh come on, drop the innocent act." Tommy's voice had a definite edge to it now. "What really happened?" He stared intently at Jason.

It seemed to Tommy that Jason stared at him blankly for quite a while. It finally got the best of him.

"Look Jase, stop formulating the best way to tell me and just spit it out!"

"Tommy, don't upset yourself, okay? You don't want a migraine, do you?"

Tommy just stared at him.

"Okay, look—it's no big deal. We had a little argument, that's all."

"A _little_ argument? How little?" Tommy knew from experience that if Jason was mad enough to argue at all, it was usually a _major_ blow up—not a _'little argument'_.

"Well, I'm sure I hurt her feelings, but . . ."

"But you didn't mean to, right?" Tommy interrupted, sarcastically.

"No . . . I meant to," Jason replied very matter-of-factly.

Tommy's eyes widened a bit. It wasn't like Jason to purposely try to hurt someone.

"Bro, I'm still pissed at her for what she did to you. It was just wrong."

"I completely agree, but Jase . . . she did it to me, not you."

Jason looked at him with hurt and concern in his eyes.

"Tommy, you're my best friend—my brother. When someone screws with you, they screw with me, okay? Remember the conversations we had after she broke up with you? How sad and hurt you were?"

"Yeah—how could I forget?"

Jason remembered briefly the conversation from a few months back:

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey Jase . . . you got a few minutes to talk?"_

_Jason could hear that something was wrong. Tommy usually sounded so happy and upbeat when he called him. Not to mention, in Angel Grove, it was the wee hours of the morning._

"_Sure bro. Why are you up, anyway? Some big monstrosity terrorizing the city or just lots of homework?" he said flippantly, trying to get a chuckle out of his friend._

_Tommy sighed, but didn't say anything right away._

"_Tommy? What's wrong, man?"_

_In a small voice that Jason barely heard, Tommy finally said, "Jase, Kim broke up with me—she dumped me."_

_The former red ranger's mouth flew open and he paused for a second. "What did you say?"_

"_You heard me," Tommy said, again very quietly._

"_But why? I know you guys were having a few problems before she left and being separated is never easy, but . . . you guys seemed to be basically okay."_

"_Not anymore, we're not."_

"_What was her reason—what did she say?"_

"_She met another guy in Florida—says she thinks he's the one she's meant to be with."_

"_You are kidding me," Jason said, emphasizing every word._

"_No. She even had the nerve to tell me that I would like him. Can you believe that?"_

"_Oh please. Tommy, I'm so sorry. What did you say to her?"_

_Tommy was fighting back tears at this point—Jason could hear it in his voice._

"_Nothing. You can't really talk back to a letter."_

'_No. She wouldn't do that to Tommy. Kim knows how sensitive he is. Surely not.'_

_Jason was getting royally pissed. _

"_My little sister Kim broke up with you in a fuckin' _letter_?! You wait 'til I get ahold of her . . ."_

"_You know what hurts the most? Besides being dropped like a bad habit—she told me that I was her best friend and like her brother and then she proceeded to tell me about this other guy. It made me feel like everything we had was a lie—that she was just using me until something better came along."_

_He was openly crying now. His bro was the only person he'd cry in front of. Jason's rage was building inside of him. He was trying hard to control himself, though._

"_Tommy, there _is_ no one better. Kim is a damn fool. Man, I wish I was there . . ."_

"_Yeah, I wish you were too," Tommy said in a rough, emotion-filled voice. _

_Jason winced—it was times like this that he regretted his decision to leave. He wanted nothing more right now than to put his arms around his bro and try to comfort him the best he could . . . and then he would call up Kim and give her the rough edge of his tongue. _That_ he could and would do from Switzerland._

_Jason decided that anger wasn't what Tommy needed right now, so he suppressed it in favour of the big brother act._

"_I know you don't want to hear this right now Tommy, but it goes to show that maybe you guys just weren't meant to be. There's someone out there that's absolutely perfect for you—someone that will love you and understand you and would never treat you like that."_

'_Like me, for instance.' How he wanted to tell him that—but now wasn't anywhere close to the right time._

"_Yeah, maybe. But right now I don't feel very lovable. I feel used. I feel like I'm not good enough." He paused. "Her _brother_?! I still can't believe that!"_

"_Seriously. But Tommy, not only are you good enough—you're _too_ good for her. Don't you see that?". . ._

_Looking back on that conversation now, Jason had succeeded in calming Tommy down and even cheering him up a little bit. But it wouldn't be the only talk they'd have over the breakup. Jason would call Kim the very next day and read her the riot act—telling her off for treating Tommy like that and doing it the coward's way—through a letter. It would be the last time they would talk until the argument at the hospital._

"Well, dammit, I don't care if I did think of her as my little sister, the way she treated you was cowardly and just plain fucked up and I didn't appreciate it. I never told you this, but I called her up after you told me what she did and I blessed her out."

"Jase . . ." Tommy said quietly with a note of disapproval.

"What? She needed to be told off and I knew you weren't going to do it."

"But you two have been friends for a really long time. I don't want my problems with her to come between you guys."

"As her big brother, I reserve the right to tell her when she's being a dumb bitch," Jason said with his arms crossed on his chest.

Tommy couldn't help but grin slightly at Jason getting all puffed up in defence of him. It was nice to know that he cared that much.

"So what happened while I was in ICU?"

"Hmmm . . . well, I'm not sure what set me off so bad. I know I was extremely tired from not sleeping and very stressed over your condition—seeing her again just brought back all the anger I still had over your breakup. She wanted to talk to me . . . to make up. I just wasn't ready to deal with that at the time. She said something about not holding a grudge against her for something that had nothing to do with me. That flew all over me. She _knows_ how close we are and how I feel about you--being like my brother and all--she should know better than to think that her major fuck up wouldn't bother me. Then she said she needed my support—she doesn't _deserve_ my support! I told her that I didn't have the energy or the desire to make nice with her and if she wanted support to go find what's-his-name in Florida!"

Tommy actually laughed out loud at that. "Jase. . ." he said as he shook his head, but he wore a big grin. Then he held out his hand to his bro. Jason slipped his hand into Tommy's and as they shook, Tommy said, "Thanks, man."

Jason smiled broadly. "Any time, bro. Any time."

Neither was in a hurry to break contact with the other's hand. In fact, Tommy rubbed the back of Jason's hand with his thumb before letting go.

"I'm sorry I got upset with you over her. I still have this protective streak where she's concerned—can't seem to get rid of it yet."

"It's okay, I understand."

Later that evening, Tommy was thinking over all he had been told that day—what happened during the accident and Jason's argument with Kim. She _had_ been there. She _did_ still care—at least on some level.

'_Why do I care? After what she did to me—after she broke my heart like that—she doesn't deserve for me to care.'_

He remembered what Jason had said to her. He grinned and hugged Cocoa a little tighter.

'_Maybe there _is_ someone else for me . . . just maybe. Now, how do I ask him?'_

_______________________________________________________________________

_Author's Notes: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter! Please keep them coming!! I seriously do appreciate you taking time to let me know if you're enjoying my story._


	11. Friendly Intervention

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** So many impatient people . . . Want to see some action, huh? *grin* Hang in there—you'll be rewarded, I promise!

**Chapter 11—Friendly Intervention**

Day 8—Saturday

Jason sat mumbling under his breath at the breakfast table. He was annoyed at himself for sleeping so late. Even though it was the weekend, he had meant to be up by 8—8:30 at the latest. It was now 10:30. He wanted to get over to the hospital and hang out with Tommy. He figured his bro would be lonely—God only knew why the Olivers didn't spend more time with him. They visited him every day, usually twice, but they just didn't hang around like Jason knew his parents would if it were him in the hospital.

'_I guess they're just different—I don't know.'_

Not that Jason got the impression that Tommy missed them. They had never seemed all that close, anyway. This was another foreign concept to Jason. So when he called Tommy's room to apologize for being so late, he was understandably surprised when Mrs. Oliver answered the phone.

"Mrs. Oliver, this is Jason. Is Tommy awake?"

"Jason, hi. Yeah, he's awake but he's not feeling well today."

"Oh? What's wrong?"

"Well, a couple of things. He has a high fever and the doctor thinks he's suffering from post-concussion syndrome. They tried to sit him up for the first time this morning and it seems to have triggered some problems."

"Great . . . poor Tommy . . . I thought he was getting better."

"Hopefully it's just a temporary setback. He's been nearly flat on his back for a week now, you know. Sitting up gave him a really bad headache and made him dizzy and nauseous. He's resting right now."

"Tell him I'll be up there in about half an hour to see him, okay?"

"I will and thank you for being such a good friend, Jason."

"No problem. Tommy's like a brother to me, you know."

__________________________________________________________

Jason made his way to Angel Grove Memorial very soon after talking to Tommy's mom. He had let the rest of the gang know that Tommy wasn't feeling well today and they all promised to drop by too.

As Jason figured he would be, Tommy was alone when he walked in and he didn't look good at all. He was pale and sweaty and his breathing was quick and shallow. He was being given oxygen. Jason's stomach knotted up when he took Tommy's limp, hot hand in his own—Tommy didn't react.

"Bro, can you hear me? Tommy?"

There was no response.

The nurse came in about then and Jason started peppering her with questions.

"He was fine yesterday. What happened?"

"He started running a fever during the night and he still has it. I was just going to see what his temperature is now."

She placed the electronic thermometer just inside Tommy's ear and took the reading.

"103," she told Jason who was hovering nearby. "He must have an infection somewhere. We're doing blood work to try and determine what the problem is."

"His mom told me he was dizzy and nauseous. Did that go away?"

"No, and he became somewhat unresponsive a little while ago. He's going for an MRI soon."

'_Unresponsive? That's not good at all. Damn, Tommy . . .'_

The nurse noted Jason's reaction to the news. She thought she needed to clarify.

"I don't mean unresponsive like unconscious or in a coma, by the way. He's not _that _bad."

"That's good. Had me worried there for a minute. I'll call his brother and uncle and let them know."

"His parents have been here most of the morning. Wouldn't they have let his family know?"

"No, that's his adopted family. I'm talking about his birth family. The Olivers wouldn't have called them."

Jason still didn't understand the problem between the Olivers and the Truehearts. Didn't they both love Tommy?

Jason continued trying to talk to him. He stroked his hair away from the big bandage that Tommy still wore on his head. He ran his fingers along the strong jaw line.

"Tommy? Come on bro, make some noise for me."

He picked up Tommy's hand again and held it tight.

"Please—you're worrying me."

He looked intently at that beautiful face. The bruises and cuts looked much better and the swelling had gone away. Except for the lack of color, he looked like himself again.

He patted Tommy's cheek. "Open your eyes—come on. Tommy, please wake up."

Jason was getting himself worked up. He couldn't stand to see him like this. Finally, Tommy gave him a little encouragement. He moved his head slowly from side to side and moaned a bit. Then he blinked a couple of times and opened his eyes.

"Hey there. Feeling bad today, huh?" Jason leaned closer and stroked his hair. Tommy nodded—he was too weak to talk.

"They'll find out what's wrong and fix it, don't worry."

He looked around to make sure they were alone.

". . . and if they can't, Zordon, Alpha, and Billy _can_."

The corners of Tommy's mouth curled slightly.

"They're gonna do some more tests soon. I think the nurse said you're going for an MRI in a little while."

He had no sooner gotten that sentence out of his mouth than he regretted it. Tommy's eyes widened and he looked apprehensive. Jason recalled the last time they went through that.

"Bro, it's okay. Don't worry. I'll be there if you want."

Tommy nodded slowly, but still looked uneasy. He closed his eyes again and Jason saw a single tear trickle down his cheek. He patted his arm and said in a soothing voice, "It's okay. I'm here and we'll get through the MRI again just like we did last time, okay?"

As well intended as it was, Jason's assurance didn't seem to help that much. Tommy took a ragged breath and squinted—more tears fell from his closed eyes.

"Tommy . . . the test isn't what's bothering you, is it?"

He shook his head slightly.

"So what is it? Can you tell me?"

Those big eyes opened again and Tommy tried to speak. Nothing much came out. Jason leaned his ear as close to Tommy's mouth as he could and he could barely make out,

". . . thought I was getting better . . . want out of here."

Jason repeated what he heard and Tommy nodded.

"You _are_ getting better, bro. This is just a temporary setback—nothing more. The nurse said you have an infection somewhere that's causing the fever. Once they figure out exactly where the problem is, they'll give you some antibiotics or something to clear it up . . . and you're weak because of the fever and because you can't eat much, that's all."

Tommy mouthed 'MRI' with a questioning look.

"I don't know—probably just a precaution. That and they need to make sure your head injury is healing like it's supposed to."

"Exactly right. Couldn't have said it better myself," the nurse said from behind Jason, making him jump. Tommy grinned slightly.

"It's just a precaution," she added.

"And was I right about him being weak because of the fever and not being able to eat?" Jason asked.

"Most probably." She extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Doctor . . . ?"

Jason grinned and shook her hand. "Scott. Jason Scott."

"Well, Dr. Scott, I see your name here in Mr. Oliver's chart as the one who can help him get through an MRI. Would you like to come with us?"

"Sure, I'll be glad to."

An orderly came in and prepared Tommy's bed to be moved, trying hard to keep all of his IV lines out of the way and untangled. As they moved out into the hallway and towards the elevator, Tommy reached out weakly for Jason's hand. Jason grasped it and smiled at his bro.

"It's okay," he said softly.

The Olivers came up the hallway and saw them pushing Tommy towards the elevator. They also saw Jason holding Tommy's hand.

"Oh, is it time for the MRI already?" Mr. Oliver asked.

"Yes sir. Would you like to come down to the lab with us?" the nurse asked.

"Yeah, we may as well. Jason, since we're going down, you don't have to. If you want to wait in Tommy's room that would be fine."

"Well, I promised Tommy that I would be there with him during the test—like I was last time. He gets so upset over that machine, ya know."

"Yeah. If he wants you there, it's fine."

Tommy looked at his mom and nodded. He definitely wanted his bro there.

They all reached the MRI lab and waited in the holding area until it was time for Tommy to be taken back for the test. Tommy's parents tried to talk to him, but he wasn't responding very much—just a head shake or a nod.

In the course of the conversation, Mr. Oliver said something that made Jason mad. Maybe he was just trying to help, but it sure didn't seem like it. He told Tommy that being afraid of things like enclosed places or heights or whatever was like being afraid of the dark—it was childish and he was too old to act that way. Jason countered that, while phobias might be irrational, they are very real and hard to deal with. He should know--he had an intense fear of snakes.

When Tommy was taken back, he pulled Jason right along with him and they repeated the method they had used before—Tommy kept his eyes closed and held Jason's hand while Jason talked nonstop to keep Tommy's mind off of the test. If it ain't broke . . .

Out in the holding area, the Olivers looked through the picture window and watched the test. Jason looked so comfortable and natural sitting by Tommy's side and was speaking so sweetly to him that the young Radiology assistant made an unfortunate assumption. She asked Mrs. Oliver, "Is that your son?"

"Yeah, the one having the test."

"Oh." She turned and looked through the window. "They make a cute couple."

It took a minute, but after it sunk in as to what she was implying, Mrs. Oliver's face nearly fell off. "What?! They're not a couple! They're best friends! What makes you think . . ."

The young woman's eyes got big—she knew she'd put her foot in it. "I'm sorry ma'am. I meant no offense. I just assumed that since . . ." She had seen them holding hands and heard the way Jason was talking to Tommy.

"You assumed _wrong_! My son is _not_ . . . whatever you're insinuating!"

"Forgive me, ma'am. I didn't mean to upset you." She walked off mumbling something about someone being in denial.

The test was over in about 35-40 minutes and Tommy was taken back upstairs. Tommy's parents noticed how he wouldn't let Jason out of his sight, but they chalked it up to how much Tommy had missed his best friend since he'd been gone.

'_That girl downstairs must be crazy—there's no way . . . that's disgusting,' _Margaret Oliver thought to herself.

Once Tommy was settled back in his room, more of his friends came to see him. They had been warned that he wasn't feeling well today, so they didn't stay long so as not to tire him out. Jason finally had a chance to call Sam and David and let them know what was going on. They were going to visit him later on that day anyway. Now they decided to bring him a special gift.

Jason was sitting in the bedside recliner talking to Tommy about what was going on in their mutual classes when Tommy's brother and great-uncle walked in carrying something wrapped in white tissue paper. It appeared to be about the size of a dinner plate.

"Hey Tommy. Not feeling so good, huh?" David said as he approached the bed. "Hey Jason."

"Hi David, Mr. Trueheart. Good to see you both again," Jason answered as he got up to shake Sam's hand.

"Jason. Nice to see you too," Sam replied, looking a bit worried.

Tommy looked up at both of them and managed a weak "Hi" and a small wave.

"Sam and I brought you something for your room—I hope you like it," David said and placed the wrapped gift in Tommy's hands.

He was propped up about halfway between sitting and lying down, so he was able to see well enough to carefully unwrap his present. As the paper came off, Tommy smiled broadly when he saw a beautiful handmade object of leather, colourful stones, and feathers. Jason was standing beside Tommy's bed, watching.

"Is that a dream catcher?" he asked.

Tommy shook his head and motioned for David to explain to Jason.

"It sort of looks like a dream catcher, but this is what we call a medicine wheel. The written prayers and little sacred objects go in this leather pouch in the middle and it's hung near the bed of the sick person."

He carefully pulled the folded paper from the little pouch.

"Sam is going to chant the prayer over Tommy and then we'll put this on the wall."

The older man prepared himself and stood on the other side of the bed from Jason. He placed both hands on Tommy's head and closed his eyes. Tommy was lying there quietly with his eyes closed and a small smile on his lips. Jason suddenly thought that David should be by his brother's side, so he moved off and silently invited him to take his place.

Everyone was quiet for several moments and then Sam began chanting in a low voice and moving his hands down Tommy's head, neck, and chest. In the middle of this, the door opened and in walked Adam and Rocky who hadn't been able to visit Tommy earlier in the day. Jason held his finger to his lips so they would know to be quiet and motioned for them to join him at the foot of the bed. They all looked on in fascination as Sam moved his skilled, weathered hands over Tommy's body and chanted something they couldn't understand.

Adam stood there looking at his injured friend and leader. He had known since shortly after they met that Tommy was of Native American heritage, but he hadn't realized until now how very native he looked. Of course, the presence of Sam and David and the fact that the old shaman was performing a native rite greatly added to the impression, but still . . .

When Sam finished, David hung the medicine wheel on the wall above Tommy's bed and then leaned over and hugged and kissed his little brother.

"You're going to be fine, Falcon. Don't worry." He stroked his brother's long hair and smiled at him. "You'll be outta here soon."

"I hope so," Tommy said weakly.

They all sat around talking for a while. Tommy remembered something that he wanted to talk to Sam about. In his weak voice he said, "Sam, I need to ask you something."

"Sure Tommy, what is it?"

"We were talking earlier about the accident and Jason said that he thought I had someone watching over me—like a guardian angel. What do you think?"

"Well, our tradition has always been that we hold our ancestors in high regard. In return, their spirits watch over us, guide us, and help us. We don't use the word 'angel', but it's essentially the same thing."

"Could my parents be watching over me . . ." he moved his hand over to touch David, ". . . _us_?"

David covered Tommy's hand with his own and looked at Sam.

"Absolutely. No doubt in my mind that Joseph and Elizabeth are keeping watch over their baby boys. They loved you two so much in this life--that love would definitely carry over to the next," the wise, older man said gently. "They would be, no _are_, so proud of you both."

Tommy and David shared a warm smile.

The nurse came in sometime later to give Tommy his test results. The MRI was fine. His head injury was healing well and his blood work indicated a definite infection which was causing the fever. It would take until the following day to get all of the results back—they wanted to make sure it wasn't staph. She gave him the first dose of antibiotics and said that he should hopefully start feeling better by morning.

Tommy, along with everyone else, was very relieved that this setback was minor and easily fixed. Rocky, Adam, Sam, and David left to let Tommy rest and Jason was about to do the same.

"I'd better be going and let you rest. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Jase, thank you . . . for everything," he said, sounding quite tired.

Jason put his hand on Tommy's arm. "For what? I haven't done anything."

"Yes you have. I would have been so lonely up here without you. And what would I do without Cocoa?" He squeezed the little bear tightly and smiled at Jason who beamed at him.

'_Damn, he's so cute holding that silly bear.'_

Leaning over Tommy's bed, Jason said, "Hey, I'm your best friend. What else am I supposed to do? Just concentrate on getting better so that we can have some fun together, okay?"

The sight of those big chocolate eyes looking up at him, so close . . . it gave Jason a case of the butterflies. Tommy just nodded and kept looking into his dark eyes.

'_That beautiful mouth is so close . . . it would be so easy . . . but no, he's not feeling well today,'_ Jason thought as he hovered over Tommy's bed. He hugged him gently and quickly pressed a kiss to his bro's forehead. He could feel the heat from his skin.

"I really hope you feel better soon. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yep, tomorrow. Good night, Jase."

_________________________________________________________

Day 9—Sunday

The day had gone by pretty quickly. Tommy had slept late—his body was recovering from the infection and needed more sleep. The good news was that the infection was not staph and his fever was almost gone. He felt much more like himself today. His stomach was better able to tolerate food now, so he could have light meals and that would make him stronger.

When Tommy awoke at around 10am, Jason was napping in the recliner beside him. He wondered how long he'd been there. He just watched him sleep for a while, thinking how innocent and boyish he looked.

'_He is so handsome—you'd have to be blind not to see that—that coal black hair and dark skin . . .'_

Eventually, Tommy decided that he wanted some company, so he raised the head of his bed up a little and leaned over as far as he dared until he could just touch him. He stroked the back of his bro's hand until he woke up to find Tommy grinning at him.

They spent most of the afternoon talking and laughing with their friends. Tommy would watch Jason when he wasn't looking and Jason would do the same to Tommy. Zack noticed—why were _they_ so oblivious?

Mondo decided to attack the city in the late afternoon and everyone ran out except Jason and Zack. It was the first attack since the one that had injured Tommy and Adam. Why he had waited so long was anybody's guess, but the rangers beat back the monster with relative ease. It was the proclamation that Mondo made afterward that had everyone anxious: "I will take you rangers down, one by one, beginning with the weakest." What had he meant by that, they all wondered.

'_Who's the weakest?'_

Tommy had lots of other visitors too. Sam and David had come by for awhile; Tommy's parents, of course, had been there along with Jason's, Zack's, Adam's, and Rocky's parents. Tommy's room was full of cards, flowers, stuffed animals, and balloons from his friends and their families as well as teachers, Ernie, his parents' offices, etc. He could never truly say that he wasn't loved.

In the evening, Jason finally decided to get his butt home and finish his homework for Monday. After his usual promise to see him as soon as possible the next day, Jason left Tommy and made his way home. On the way, his cell phone rang. It was Zack.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"Not much, Jase. I just wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Have you told Tommy how you feel about him yet?" Talk about cutting to the chase.

Jason had known this was coming sooner or later. He prepared himself for the lecture that was sure to follow.

"No, not yet."

"Why the hell not?"

"Zack, he's been too sick and weak to even try to talk to him about that."

"He's doing better now."

"Sure, now. Today was the first day he's been like that, though. And there's still the question of how he'll take it. I don't want to run the risk of pushing him away, Zack."

"Jason, please . . . are you blind? You have nothing to worry about, trust me on this."

"What do you mean?"

Zack chuckled. "Well, you know how you were looking at him when you thought no one noticed?"

Jason was busted. "Ummm, yeah. You saw that, huh?"

"Yeah, Jase. You aren't very slick. Well, guess what? Tommy ain't slick either—he was doin' the same thing."

Jason's face erupted into a huge, goofy grin.

"Seriously?! You wouldn't lie to me . . ."

Zack laughed at Jason's excitement. "No, I wouldn't lie to you about this. He's into you, man, I promise. Now do something about it!"

Jason could feel his pulse racing. _'Could it be true? Was Zack right?'_

"Zack . . . are you sure you saw what you think you saw?"

"Let's see . . . Tommy sneaking glances at you when you weren't looking—the look in his eyes—the way he touched you every time he got the chance—hmmm . . . yeah, I'd say I saw what I think I saw," Zack said, amused.

Jason thought back to all the times he thought his bro might have been flirting with him. At the time, he had convinced himself that it was too good to be true.

'_Was I right? Is Zack right? What if he's wrong . . .'_

"Zack, man, I don't know. You, of all people, know how I feel about him, but . . ." he paused and sighed. "I just don't know if I can take the chance of telling him yet. I kinda think you might be right, but if we're both wrong . . . it could be well, uncomfortable at best and downright ugly at worst."

"Jase, how long have we known each other?"

"Seems like forever."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Anyway, don't you trust me? If I weren't sure, I would never suggest that you risk telling him. The only thing I'm not sure of is whether he's ready to act on his feelings, but I guarantee that the feelings are there."

"So what do you suggest I do? How should I go about it? _If_ I do this, and that's a big 'if', I _have_ to get it right. This is too important to screw up."

"Elaborate plans never work—use the straightforward approach. Pick a time when you're fairly sure that you won't be interrupted, make sure he's feeling okay and can listen to you, and just do it!"

"Hmmm . . ." Jason murmured. He was considering it, but still wasn't sure. By this time, Jason had reached his house and was sitting on the hood of his car in his driveway. He didn't feel like going in just yet. Zack just kept talking . . .

"Rex, I hate to have to play this card, but . . . to be blunt, you nearly lost him. None of us are promised another day. I know the depth of your feelings, your love, for Tommy and I think it's time you told him."

Jason sighed deeply. He knew Zack was right, but he was still scared—that was the only word for it.

"Remember when you saw him in the Recovery Room? Remember how you felt? You told him then that you loved him and I know nothing's changed, so . . ."

"But he's my best friend. I'm running the risk of alienating him if he doesn't return my feelings."

"Trust your best friend, then. He knows you're bi and it doesn't bother him, right? And it never has, right? So even if I'm wrong--which I'm not by the way--he's not going to push you away, Jase. And if I'm right--which I am--just think how good it will be! I know you wanna get your hands in that hair!"

Jason had to laugh at that comment.

"Okay, you're right about that. Tell you what, I promise to give it a lot of thought, but right now, I have homework to finish and it's getting late. Have you made up your mind about the conference yet?"

Zack hadn't realized how much he missed Angel Grove, his family, the Youth Center, etc. until he came home on this emergency. Unlike Jason, he hadn't come home at every opportunity.

"Yeah, I have. I'm going back, but not until after the New Year. I'm going to finish the Fall semester at AGH. I register tomorrow."

"Really? Cool. Almost like old times."

"Yeah. Well, I'll let you go. See you tomorrow?"

"You know it. And Zack . . . thanks. I need a good kick in the pants every now and then."

"You're welcome. My foot's always available. See ya!"

"Later."

Jason closed his phone and lay back on the still-warm hood of his Mustang. He stared up into the clear night sky and looked at the stars. He wondered how things were going to turn out between him and Tommy. Zack was right—he had to tell him.

_______________________________________________________________

At Angel Grove Memorial, Tommy was disobeying orders. He knew he wasn't supposed to be out of bed without help, but he felt strong enough to walk over to the window and sit in the recliner. The dizziness and nausea came and went—he felt okay at the moment. He just couldn't get to sleep yet. Looking down at the old, worn teddy bear in his arms, he couldn't help but smile. Jason had looked so cute when he walked in carrying it. Tommy stared out into the night sky and wondered what Jason was doing. He absent-mindedly picked at the bandage on his head. The damn thing itched.

Tommy thought about the variety of emotions that had been swirling through his head over the last few days.

'_Why is this happening now? I've been around Jase before without this getting so out of hand.'_

Then something occurred to him. This was the first time he had been with Jason since he and Kim had broken up. There was also the added dimension of Jason's decision to stay in Angel Grove.

'_But so what if he's not going back to Switzerland and I'm single now—that doesn't automatically mean that he'd be interested in me. He's my best friend, that's why he's been so kind to me.'_

Tommy thought about the flirting he had been doing with his bro—testing the water, so to speak.

'_He seems to return my feelings. He flirts back with me. But am I reading too much into this?'_

He wished he had someone he could talk to. Many times since his relationship with Kim ended had he wanted to confide in someone about this thing with Jason, but he never had. Adam seemed the obvious choice since they were close and the green zeo ranger was just so easy to talk to. In fact, he was the group's unofficial psychologist. But he thought that Adam might have expressed an interest in Jason and that just made things awkward.

'_Is Adam bi? Am _I_? Am I ready to put that label on myself?'_

Tommy sat alone with his thoughts and apprehensions.

'_Can I risk telling Jason what I feel for him? What will it do to our friendship if Jason isn't interested in me like that?'_

He just didn't know. Jason's place in his life wasn't in doubt—he was like a brother to him, more even. He was the best friend he'd ever had. Could he risk all of that? _Would_ he be risking it? His head started to hurt. Maybe these life-altering questions and decisions could be left until tomorrow . . . or the day after.

________________________________________________________________________________

_Author's Notes: Thanks much for all the kind reviews! Now, all you people who are reading and not reviewing . . . come on! It's simple! Just say "Hello" and tell me what you think. I really do appreciate your time. Until next chapter . . . _


	12. Frazzled Nerves

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Chapter 12—Frazzled Nerves**

Day 10--Monday

Tommy was woken up early by the nurses and made to eat his breakfast. He apparently had a date with a physical therapist that he hadn't been aware of.

"They're going to do some testing to see how you're recovering. You may be able to go home soon, wouldn't that be great?"

Stupid question. Tommy was so ready to go home that he could taste it. TV at the hospital sucked and he wasn't allowed to have his CD player there. He would have resorted to reading if he could get anyone to bring him a decent book, but as it was, he was _bored_.

Problem was, he had been showing some signs of post concussion syndrome and the headaches and dizziness made reading difficult. Things were getting better, though. The PT tests would help determine if his balance, coordination, and motor skills had been affected by the brain damage he had sustained.

That fact bothered Tommy to no end. He tried not to think about it and having visitors around to talk to kept it in the back of his mind, but when he was alone he had to face it. He was 'brain injured' as they called it. Nothing had manifested itself yet—his neurologist said that it possibly never would, but his doctor didn't know about him being Zeo Ranger 5.

'_Can I continue being a ranger? Should I? What if my 'injury' picks the wrong time to cause a problem?'_

He had had a dream a couple of nights ago where, in the middle of a battle, he had blacked out at the controls of his zord and put his teammates in danger. That couldn't be allowed to happen.

Tommy spoke to Billy about his concerns and their resident genius had promised to run a battery of tests on him ASAP. First, however, he had to be released from the hospital. To that end, he tried to do what the nurses asked and wanted to do well with the physical therapist.

About 9am, an orderly presented himself at Tommy's door with a wheelchair to take him down for his testing. This had to be one of the most effeminate men Tommy had ever seen. He sashayed into the room and parked the chair next to Tommy's bed.

"Mr. Oliver, your chariot awaits."

'_Oh my god, he did _not_ just say that . . .'_

"Uh, call me Tommy."

"Here, let me help you, Tommy." He moved to the bed and took the red ranger's hand, helping him up and into the chair. "Wow, what beautiful hair you have."

Tommy was not one to judge people, but something about this one creeped him out. But he had to be nice . . .

"Thanks. It looks better without this particular fashion accessory," he said, pointing to the bandage.

"Oh, that'll come off soon. Don't worry. Let's get you down to Mr. Matt, okay?"

"Mr. Matt?"

"Your physical therapist. He's the best."

It was going to be a loooong morning.

____________________________________________________

Several miles away, Jason was sitting in 1st block History trying to concentrate on the subject at hand—the Great Depression. Snore. All he wanted to do was get over to the hospital to see Tommy. He had been thinking about the conversation with Zack the night before. The former black ranger was right about them needing to talk, but . . . he got knots in his stomach every time he thought about it. The worst case scenario kept running through his mind:

He would bare his soul to Tommy and his bro would look at him like he had three heads.

"Jase, you might be bi, but I'm not."

"But I thought that maybe you felt the same way."

"You're my best friend—not my lover. I could never feel that way about another man."

'_And God forbid he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore.'_ He sighed and lowered his head. _'Talk about a Great Depression.'_

_______________________________________________________

Tommy did everything he was asked by "Mr. Matt" and came through the testing with flying colours. He was still weak, but his balance was good for as long as he was able to stand. More tests were scheduled for the next day.

Back in his room, Tommy was getting back into bed when Allen, the orderly queen, asked him about the medicine wheel on his wall. He explained what it was and who had given it to him. Allen then said that he figured that was where his good looks came from. He also said that Tommy should wear his hair braided while he was stuck in bed—it would be easier to deal with—and he offered to braid it for him.

'_Is this guy for real? Better not introduce him to Jase—he'd try to take him away from me . . . Did I just think that?! Oh my god!'_

After a little more talking, Tommy relented and let Allen put his chestnut locks in a thick braid trailing down to his shoulder blades. The guy was actually pretty nice—once you got past the flames.

______________________________________________________

Lunchtime finally rolled around and Jason sat at a table with Adam, Rocky, Tanya, and Kat. The more time he spent with them the more comfortable he became. He still missed the old gang, though.

"Rex! Hey man!" He knew that voice as well as he knew his own.

"Zack! I take it you got registered okay."

"Yep, sure did." They compared schedules and found that they had English together. Tommy was in that class as well. _That_ was like old times.

Zack leaned over and whispered, "Did you think about our talk last night?"

"Yeah, I've thought about it. I'm still thinking about it."

"Trust me, man. I wouldn't steer you wrong."

"We'll see . . . we'll see."

_______________________________________________________

Tommy ate his lunch without enthusiasm. He knew that his stomach was still healing, but he couldn't take much more of this. Jello, applesauce, oatmeal, rice, mashed potatoes—bland and disgusting. He had lost so much weight, though—weight he couldn't afford to lose—he had to just deal with it. He'd never get his strength back if he didn't try to stomach this stuff.

He looked at the clock—1:00. '_Two and a half hours until Jason gets here. I wish I could take a shower.'_

One of his many doctors told him that he was happy with his test results and that he needed to start getting up and walking more. A young, pretty nurse's aide named Sophia was sent to help him walk up and down the hallway a couple of times. She was olive-complected with black hair and beautiful dark eyes—could have been Jason's sister. She came into Tommy's room and stopped in her tracks. He was younger than her by a couple of years, but she obviously thought he was easy on the eyes.

"Mr. Oliver? I'm Sophia. I was asked to walk with you a little. Do you need help getting up?"

"Umm, maybe," he said while making sure that his hospital gown was snapped.

'_Damn thing.'_

She took his hand and helped him stand and put on his robe. They talked while walking slowly down the long hallway. Turns out, she had graduated from AGH two years ago and her younger brother was in one of Tommy's classes.

On the way back to the room, he started getting a bit tired, so she put an arm around his waist and helped support him. He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the sensation of a woman's touch. And she certainly was pretty . . .

"You need to take another walk in a couple of hours if you feel up to it, okay?"

"Okay, I will."

"See you later, Tommy," she said as she left his room.

He sat and thought about what had just gone on. A beautiful girl had just walked with her arm around him and been really sweet to him and what was going through his mind? Jason. That was it.

'_It's official—I've got it bad.'_

_______________________________________________________

Jason was still mulling over Zack's advice as he drove to the hospital after school. He _really_ wanted to have that talk with Tommy.

'_I've waited long enough, haven't I? I ran off to Switzerland to get away from these feelings—that was stupid. It only made me want him more.'_

He thought he stood a pretty good chance of getting a favourable reaction from Tommy—if he was reading his bro correctly. They knew each other so well, it was surprising that Tommy hadn't already picked up on what Jason was feeling. Or maybe he had . . .

'_So what's keeping me from doing this?'_

He knew the answer to that—one word—fear. Even the slim chance of rejection was enough to stop him cold.

As he walked from the parking lot, Zack's words came drifting back to him: ". . . you nearly lost him—none of us are promised another day." A picture of a comatose Tommy flashed into his mind. A new resolve took hold of him.

'_Dammit, this is silly. I've waited as long as I'm going to. Even if he doesn't return my feelings, our friendship is strong enough to withstand a little awkwardness. Tommy would never just shut me out.'_

Jason couldn't believe how much better he felt—he had butterflies, of course—but it was as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He stopped by the restroom to make sure he was presentable.

_____________________________________________________

Tommy checked the clock on the wall—3:45. '_Where is Jase?'_

He got up and carefully walked to the sink. There he smoothed his hair with his hands—the braid was still clean and tight. He brushed over his teeth again. He made sure he had remembered the deodorant.

'_Why am I so antsy?'_

Getting back into bed, he pulled at that damnable hospital gown.

'_This thing has got to go.'_

He covered his legs and pulled Cocoa up to sit beside him. He was all nice and comfortable and then . . . that freakin' bandage started itching again. Not the head bandage this time—no, this time it was the tight bandage around his ribcage.

'_How much longer do I have to be wrapped like a damn egg roll?'_

He scratched and picked at the wrapping almost unconsciously. Finally, there was a small knock at the door and in walked the much-anticipated visitor. Each man's eyes lit up when they saw the other. It would have been obvious to anyone in the room that these two were into each other. But as it was, Cocoa the bear was the only witness.

"Hey bro, where you been?" Tommy asked as Jason was about half an hour later than usual.

Jason had suddenly gotten a worried look on his face and he hurried over to the bed to examine Tommy. Standing beside him, he could see that the long tresses were still there, just in a braid.

"Wow, that worried me. I thought someone had cut your hair off," Jason said as he placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder, a note of relief in his baritone voice.

Tommy grinned. "You know I wouldn't do that. It's finally getting close to the length I want it. But why would that worry you?"

"It just would—you wouldn't seem like Tommy without your long hair."

'_AND—I want to get my hands in it so bad I can't stand it!'_

"Well, no worries. I don't plan on cutting it for quite a while, if ever. I would feel naked without it!" he smiled.

'_Now there's a thought . . .'_

Jason forced his mind to behave. "So how's your day been? Who braided your hair, anyway? Some pretty nurse?"

Tommy had to laugh—he should meet the orderly queen.

"Not exactly. More like a tall, blonde orderly named Allen."

"Oh really? A _guy_ braided your hair?"

"Hey now, what's that supposed to mean? My brother braids his hair all the time and I was getting the hang of it until I cracked half of my ribs!" He placed his hand on his chest.

Jason held up his hands in mock surrender. "Easy, no offense meant. I just can't imagine you letting a man other than David mess with your hair, that's all."

'_I'd let _you_ mess with my hair all you wanted to.'_

"Well, you should meet Allen. He's . . . different."

"Different how? Tall, blonde, and gorgeous?"

'Is that a note of jealousy in his voice?'

Tommy giggled. "Uh . . . that would be a big 'No'. _You_ might think so, though. _I_ would say that he's probably a drag queen in his spare time!"

Jason's eyes widened and he burst out laughing. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. He's a nice guy, though. He took me to physical therapy this morning." Tommy went on to explain the tests and the results to his bro.

"Hey, cool! Sounds like you might actually get paroled some time soon!"

"Yep. Which reminds me, I'm supposed to try walking the hall again. Up to a stroll with me?"

"Sure. Let's go."

"I'm just warning you, since I'm still kinda weak I might need some help, okay?"

"Not a problem, bro. I've carried you before, remember?"

"Yeah. I hope I don't need _that_ much help, though!"

Tommy pulled back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed where Jason took his arm and helped him stand. They locked eyes momentarily. Butterflies were dive-bombing in Jason's stomach. Being unable to come up with anything else, he said, out of the blue, "One thing though—I'm not into blondes."

Tommy wasn't thrown off one bit. "Oh really? I seem to recall a blonde German named Mathias that you were pretty into."

"Okay. I'm not into blondes _anymore_, then."

Tommy smiled. "What is your type then, bro?"

Jason didn't know if he should just go for it right then or not. Not.

"Umm . . . how 'bout that walk?" he hedged as he went toward the door.

'_Hmmm . . .'_ thought Tommy.

They talked about school as they slowly made their way down the hallway toward the nurse's station. Jason told Tommy about Zack being in their English class.

"It'll be just like old times when you get back to school."

Tommy thought about how nice it was going to be to have Jason back at AGH. Hell, it was nice to have him back period.

The former red ranger was starting to get anxious about this impending talk. He had to do it, he knew that, but . . . how to go about it?

'_Just plunge right in, Scott.'_

"Tommy, I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay. What?"

"Well . . . let's wait until we get back to your room, okay?"

"Sure. Speaking of . . . I'm getting tired."

They had gotten so caught up in their conversation that they had gone further than they should have and now they had to get back. Tommy did fine for a while, but about ten doors down from his own his legs started failing him.

Jason supported him with a strong arm and helped him make it to his room. At the door, though, his strength finally gave out and he nearly fell. Jason grabbed him up and easily lifted him, carrying him across to the bed. Carefully placing him on the mattress, he pulled back slightly and paused. Tommy's big, chocolate eyes were looking into his own, almost hypnotising him. His long, black, curled eyelashes framed those beautiful eyes perfectly.

Jason found that their lips were only inches apart. How easy it would be to press his mouth to those full, soft-looking lips . . .

They stayed frozen like that for several moments until the butterflies doing Kamikaze runs in his stomach made Jason pull away.

'_Damn it!'_

"Th-there you go. Are you . . . okay?" Jason stammered nervously.

Tommy's stomach had gotten pretty butterfly-infested too.

'_Oh my god . . .'_

"Yeah . . . I'm fine," he said in a low voice. He didn't know if he was more nervous or disappointed. He looked over at Jason who had sat in his usual chair.

"Umm . . . what did you want to talk to me about?"

Jason's heart was still pounding in his chest.

'_Can I do this?'_ He was losing his nerve.

"Jason, are you alright? You got really quiet all of a sudden." Tommy was looking at him with concern all over his face. "Did you hurt yourself picking me up?"

"Uh, no. I'm fine. I, uh, wanted to talk to you . . . about school," he lied, figuring that he needed to calm down first.

"School? Oh, uh, okay. What about it?"

"Well, you may need some help getting caught up—you've missed two weeks already—and I just wanted to tell you that I'll be happy to help. Billy said he'd help too, if you needed him."

"That's nice of you guys. I'm sure I'll need it." Jason had seemed fairly excited earlier when he indicated that he wanted to talk . . . and why would he have to wait until they got back to the room to talk about school? Tommy wasn't convinced.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about, school?" He could tell there was something else on his best friend's mind.

"Ummmm . . . well I . . ." Jason started, but words weren't coming very easy. He was very relieved when the door opened and in walked Adam, Rocky, Tanya, Kat, Billy, and Zack.

Tommy glanced up at them and then back at Jason—he was glad to see them, but . . .

'_Whew! A reprieve. Maybe by the time they leave I can get my nerve up again,'_ Jason thought.

The gang was happy to hear that Tommy had been up and walking and that his PT tests had turned out so well.

"Going home soon?" Billy asked.

"Maybe. I really hope so—this place is driving me nuts."

When the conversation turned to ranger business, Tommy asked if they'd had any indication from Mondo of his plans.

"Nope, not a word," Adam said.

"That last thing he said about 'the weakest one' was pretty ominous. I wish we knew what he meant," Katherine offered.

"Yeah, but who's 'the weakest one' he's talking about?" Rocky asked, glancing at the girls. Some of the other guys looked over at Tanya and Kat too, not so much accusing them of being weak, but out of concern. The girls looked slightly put out.

"What makes you automatically think that . . ." Tanya started, but was interrupted.

"I am," Tommy said with dawning realization. He sighed as they all looked at him with widening eyes. He was right. The normally strong, quick, resourceful, and bold ranger commander was, at the moment, the weakest of the five. But did King Mondo know this? Since Tommy wasn't wearing his zeonizers, could Mondo find him?

"You don't think he'd try to do anything to Tommy while he's here, do ya?" Rocky asked, which earned him an elbow from Adam. The tension in the room was just cranked up a few notches. Everyone stared at Tommy.

"No, of course not. Right?" Adam asked and looked expectantly at Billy.

'_Come on Billy, say something to make everyone feel better.'_

Billy did his patented sigh and said, "Guys—while it's not completely out of the realm of possibilities, I don't believe that Mondo's instruments could track Tommy down without his zeonizers. They're at the power chamber."

Jason had a very serious look on his face. "I hope you're right, Billy."

The room was quiet. Everyone wore sober looks. Could their enemy get to their injured and weakened friend?

Tanya suddenly remembered the present she had brought Tommy. Maybe that would break the ice that had formed in the room.

"Oh Tommy, I brought you something."

She dug into her purse and pulled out a hardcover book. "It's a vampire novel—I thought you might like it."

Tommy took the book from her and smiled. "Thanks Tanya. This looks really interesting," he said as he looked over the back cover. "TV in this place sucks—this'll keep me from getting too bored."

He pulled the yellow zeo ranger into a nice hug and kissed her cheek. Everyone seemed to relax a bit after that. If Tommy didn't seem overly nervous about things, maybe they shouldn't either. He _was_ the most experienced ranger on the team, after all.

It was getting toward dinner time now and nearly everyone had to get home, so Tommy and Jason were left alone once again. They looked at each other in a weird silence.

The nerves were back with a vengeance. Jason excused himself to the restroom and stood looking in the mirror.

'_What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I talk to my best friend all of a sudden? This is silly.'_

He splashed some water on his face and then went back out to try to face Tommy.

The cause of Jason's unease was sitting in bed reading the first few pages of the book Tanya had given him. He looked up as Jason came back in.

"Have you read this? It looks pretty good." Tommy was trying to draw Jason out. Something was obviously eating at him.

"Hmmm? No, I haven't." He looked into Tommy's big brown eyes and his stomach tied itself into a knot. He could feel his hands start to shake.

"Jason . . ." his voice was warm and caring. "Bro, what's wrong? You haven't been acting like yourself today."

"I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind, I guess. I have a project due at school and stuff." Jason wanted to talk to him—he really did—but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Tommy tried again. "You said you wanted to talk to me about something . . . and I don't think it was school. What is it?" Tommy wanted to do some talking of his own, but Jason was acting so weird today that he thought he'd better wait. He wasn't sure he had the nerve right now anyway.

'_He's into you, man—just talk to him.'_ Zack's words echoed in Jason's head.

"Okay, well . . . I, uh . . . have been attracted to someone for a while now . . . and I'm not sure they return my feelings." His voice literally shook as he spoke. Tommy had never seen him so nervous.

Jason paused to try to calm himself.

"And you haven't told this person how you feel?" Tommy asked, trying to keep him talking.

"No, not yet. I've been too nervous."

"Jase, why would you be nervous? Anyone would be very lucky to have you care about them."

'_Wow—seriously?'_

"I'm guessing this person isn't blonde, right?" Tommy grinned, referring to their earlier conversation.

Jason let out a nervous laugh. "No, not blonde."

As if some sadistic puppet master was pulling their strings and watching them squirm, someone picked that very moment to knock on Tommy's door.

'_I _do not_ fuckin' believe this!'_ Jason shot an angry look in the direction of the door.

Tommy said 'come in' with the clear determination to get rid of whoever it was as quickly as possible. Turns out, it was just Sophia, bringing Tommy his dinner.

"Oh, hi Sophia."

"Hey there, Tommy. Ready for dinner?" she asked as she placed the tray down on the rolling table and moved it over to where Tommy could reach it.

"Whatcha got here?" she asked and picked up the book Tanya had left.

"One of my friends brought me that today."

"It's good. I read it last year."

"Sorry, I'm being rude. Sophia, this is my best friend Jason. Jason, Sophia. Her brother, James, is in school with us."

"Nice to meet you, Sophia," Jason said as he stood and shook her hand.

"She helped me walk earlier today. Luckily, she didn't have to carry me like you did—just an arm around my waist."

"Oh, you did fine. I didn't mind helping you at all."

They laughed and smiled with each other—Sophia clearly was attracted to Tommy, but did he like her? Jason didn't know, but he was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She stayed for a few more minutes and then left to deliver trays to her other patients. As she left the room, Jason watched Tommy watch her go.

"Pretty, isn't she?" Tommy said, still looking in the direction of the door.

Jason shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Yeah, I guess so."

"But . . . I'll tell you something. Remember we were talking about types? I think I've decided that Italians are my type." Tommy smiled broadly at Jason. He did not get the reaction he expected, however.

Jason's glimmer of hope had just been extinguished. There was no way that he could go through with this now. Tommy had just basically said that he was attracted to the dark beauty that had just left the room. It was obvious that she liked him too. Jason couldn't embarrass himself by telling Tommy how he felt—not now.

"Umm . . . I'd better go," he said suddenly.

"What? Why?" Tommy said, surprised. He had no idea of what had been going on in Jason's mind.

"Like I said, I've got this big project due. I need to get to work on it. I'm . . . I'm gonna go. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"But Jase . . . you were telling me something earlier . . ."

"Don't worry about it—it's not important." He was getting ready to head for the door. "I'll just see you tomorrow." There was a definite edge to Jason's voice—not mad—just upset.

"Umm . . . okay. Good luck on your project, I guess." Tommy sounded stunned. He had been completely taken aback by Jason's sudden mood swing.

"Thanks. Bye." Jason bolted for the door and closed it behind him. He felt like a load of bricks had just been dropped on him. He stood there and swallowed hard, trying to get ahold of himself. To make matters worse, he spotted Sophia a couple of doors down—she waved to him. He gave her a half-hearted wave and started the long walk to the parking lot.

All of his hopes had been crushed in a very few minutes. That was it. He had been wrong—Zack had been wrong.

'_I'm glad I found that out before I completely embarrassed myself. What made me even think that someone like Tommy could be attracted to me?'_

He finally reached his car and he got in and sat there for a few minutes. He stared blankly through the windshield. He eventually started the engine and drove slowly out of the parking lot, but he didn't head for home. He drove towards the beach and his favourite thinking spot—a large grouping of rocks right on the waterline that he would sit on and stare out over the ocean. He went there a lot, particularly when he needed to be alone. And he most definitely needed to be alone with his thoughts right now . . .

_______________________________________________________________

Tommy picked at his dinner. His mind wasn't on food—it was on Jason.

'_What the hell just happened? I finally had him talking and then . . . he ran outta here like he was spooked or something. That's not like him.'_

Tommy turned their conversation over in his mind.

'_He was telling me about being attracted to someone that he hadn't told. He was so nervous . . . like he was scared to tell . . . me . . . oh my god!'_

Realization hit him like a truck.

'_Was he trying to tell me that he's attracted to _me_?! Was I right about him flirting with me?'_

He replayed the conversation in his head again.

_'Maybe. I'm definitely not blonde, that's for sure. But what made him bolt?'_

He looked at the dinner tray in front of him. Because he knew Jason so well, he was able to guess at what conclusion the former red ranger must have jumped to.

'_Sophia . . . Damn it! I'm a fuckin' idiot. He must think I like her. Shit!'_

He wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to call him and straighten this out, but . . . what if he was wrong? He thought it over for a while. Finally, he decided he had to take the chance. He reached for the phone.

"Mrs. Scott, is Jason home yet?"

"No Tommy, I thought he was still there with you. He usually stays later than this, doesn't he?"

"Usually, yeah. Will you tell him to call me when he comes in?"

"Sure. Are you okay, honey?"

"Yes, ma'am. Just something I need to talk to him about."

Tommy hung up from that conversation and started to call Adam, but the nurse came in with his meds and he had to put the phone down for now.

'_Where is Jase? He should be home by now. Maybe he'll call me back soon.'_

The nurse had some good news for Tommy, though. It almost took his mind off of his current dilemma. The doctor had decided that Tommy's injuries had healed enough for him to go without the head bandage and they were going to change the wrappings on his chest to a Velcro-closure brace. That meant that he could take it off and have a shower now. He had been waiting for this for days!

The nurse carefully cut the tight bandage on his forehead—the only place she could get ahold of it without cutting his hair. A strange sensation went through his head when it came off—the pressure was gone and it felt weird. He lay back and tried to be still while the nurse cut the tight wrappings on his chest. He could already breathe better. Tommy ran his hands over his bare chest and scratched some itchy spots he'd been trying to get at for days. He also found some tender spots.

"Would you like to take a shower now, Tommy?"

"Absolutely. I'm tired of sponge baths. Can I wash my hair?"

"Sure. Let me see if I can find enough shampoo for all that hair. You have to be careful in the shower, okay? I don't want you to fall. Use the shower stool, okay?"

Tommy didn't like the idea of sitting in the shower, but . . . he wanted to feel that warm water on his back so badly that he agreed.

_____________________________________________________________

The dark waves crashed against the rocks throwing a salty spray into the air. Above, the night sky was illuminated by a smattering of stars and a bright moon. Underneath it all a lone figure sat staring and pondering. Jason had been there for at least an hour, maybe more. He had lost track of time. The only thing on his mind right now was Tommy and how much he still loved him, even though he now believed that Tommy returning his feelings was an impossibility.

'_The only person in the world that I've ever truly loved and I'll never have him. I should have known better than to get my hopes up. Why is life so unfair? I don't ask for much . . . maybe I should just go back to Switzerland.'_

But Jason was tired of running—it hadn't solved anything before and it wouldn't now, he knew that. He'd just have to keep his true feelings to himself and be content with being Tommy's best friend. It wasn't what he wanted, but it was, apparently, the best he could do. He thought about the fact that he had almost lost his bro—he remembered vividly that horrible night in ICU when he almost slipped away. Tommy was so very pale and helpless looking. Even the nurses looked panicked.

A lump formed in Jason's throat and he felt his eyes begin to fill with tears. That was one of the scariest episodes of his young life and it had profoundly affected him.

'_If being his best friend is the best I can do, then I'll be content with that. He's an amazing person and I'm lucky that we're so close.'_

He sighed. _Could_ he be content with that? He thought about how hard it was going to be to watch Tommy and Sophia or whoever ended up being his new girlfriend. Maybe Kat. Jason decided that he would just have to deal with it the best way he could and hope that someday . . . maybe . . . Tommy would feel for him the same overwhelming feelings that he had been dealing with for so many months.

Finally, Jason moved from his lonely perch and headed back to his car. He really did have homework to do and his parents would be worried. He was glad that it was so dark—the few people that he passed on the beach couldn't see how red and swollen his eyes were.

He started his car and his ears were immediately assaulted by a rock ballad that, a couple of hours ago, would have made him smile thinking about Tommy. Now, it was like salt being rubbed into his fresh, still-bleeding wounds. He slammed his fist into the stereo controls to shut off the offending noise. A few more tears escaped his eyes as he drove back toward his house and his lonely room.

________________________________________________________________

Tommy hung the phone up for the third time—Jason was still not answering his cell.

'_Where the hell is he? Please let him be okay.'_

He called the Scotts' home once more and left another message with Jason's mom. He didn't want to worry her, so he tried to sound casual.

"Just please have him call me when he gets in. We need to talk," he had told her.

He pulled the covers up over his mostly bare chest. He had refused to put that hospital gown back on, but his red plaid boxers and the brace on his ribs wasn't keeping him warm. He sighed heavily and looked around his room. He needed something to keep his mind off worrying about Jason. He spotted the novel that Tanya had left and decided that maybe that would work. Ten pages in, he suddenly noticed an uncomfortable lump under his right leg. Fishing under the covers, he came up with a soft, brown, one-eyed lump named Cocoa . . . that was it—his mind went straight back to his bro.

'_Jase, dammit! Call me! How can I fix things with you if you won't return my calls?!'_

He wished that he could get up and leave the hospital and go find the man that he was sure he was falling hard for. He was fairly sure he knew where to look, too. But as he was pretty well stuck where he was, he would just have to hope that Jason was okay and that he'd call soon. Tommy hated to feel so powerless. He picked up his book again and fought the urge to dial Jason's cell phone again. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as the medicine his nurse had given him began to kick in.

________________________________________________________________

Jason parked in his driveway and slowly got out of his car. He yanked his backpack from the backseat and trudged into the house.

"Jason? Sweetie, is that you?" Mrs. Scott called from the living room.

"Yeah mom, it's me," he said in a tired voice.

"Honey, Tommy's called twice for you—are you okay?"

'_He has? Well, I guess I did kinda run out on him.'_

"I'm fine, mom—just tired and I have a lot of homework to do."

"Dinner's in the oven for you—please eat something. Oh, and call Tommy. I promised him I'd have you call."

"Okay, I will."

He knew he had to get upstairs before his over-protective mother saw his face. If Theresa Scott got a look at those red-rimmed eyes, there'd be no escaping a heart-to-heart and Jason wasn't in the mood.

He grabbed the plate from the oven, a fork, and a bottle of water and quickly climbed the stairs. He dropped his books on the floor and sat down to eat. Naturally, the first thing he saw was the framed picture of him and Tommy that sat on his desk.

'_Great. Just what I needed.'_

He turned the photo face down and tried to think about the homework he needed to get done. While picking at his food, his mind inevitably turned back to Tommy.

'_I really should call him back, but then I'll have to explain why I ran like a scared rabbit. I don't think I'm up to that right now.'_

He finished eating all that he could, put the dishes on the floor next to the desk, changed clothes, and picked up his backpack.

'_Let's see--English, History, and Psychology. Whew! This is gonna take all night!'_

He tried to settle his mind on his homework—there was so much of it. His broken heart would have to wait until later.

___________________________________________________________

_Author's Notes: Awww, poor Jase. Hang in there, people . . . Please don't forget to leave me a little review—they make my day! Seriously—it's Christmas time and I work in retail. 'Nuff said! _


	13. Can Dreams Come True?

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Okay guys, all I ask is that you read the _entire_ chapter before you start planning my horrible demise . . .

(All caps is Zordon speaking)

**Chapter 13—Can dreams come true??**

Jason's concentration was broken by the familiar tones of his communicator. Pressing the button on the side, he spoke. "Go ahead Zordon—This is Jason."

JASON. TRANSPORT TO THE POWER CHAMBER IMMEDIATELY. WE HAVE A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION.

"Right. On my way." With that, Jason disappeared from his room in a flash of light and reappeared moments later in the power chamber. He saw Adam, Rocky, Kat, and Tanya standing in a group nearby discussing something. They looked up at him as he stepped forward to speak, each wearing a worried look.

"What's going on, Zordon?" He couldn't help but notice the almost frantic expression on Billy's face as he worked feverishly over a control panel.

"Zordon—Zack, Trini, and Kim are accounted for as well," he said to their mentor before the ancient Eltarian could answer Jason's question.

I HAVE GRIM NEWS, RANGERS. WE RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM KING MONDO A FEW MINUTES AGO. HE SAID THAT HE HAD TAKEN ONE OF YOU PRISONER. TOMMY IS THE ONLY RANGER, PRESENT OR FORMER, THAT WE CANNOT LOCATE SO WE MUST ASSUME IT IS HIM.

"No," Jason said breathlessly, his eyes becoming wide, not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

Tanya and Katherine both gasped. Adam and Rocky said nothing, but their faces revealed what everyone was feeling—shock, anger, and the growing fear that Tommy was still far too weak to withstand any kind of attack.

After a few moments of painful silence, Katherine sobbed, "Oh Tommy . . . No!" She buried her face in her hands.

"They'll kill him! He can hardly walk, much less fight!" Rocky blurted out and received a sharp elbow to his side from his best friend. Rocky looked at him, wanting to ask why he'd hit him. Adam tilted his head and cut his eyes toward Jason.

The fear and anger on Jason's face was painful to see, even if they didn't know him all that well. He looked as if he'd shatter into a thousand pieces if he were touched. Adam looked at him sympathetically—he was a good friend of Tommy's too, but the bond between Jason and Tommy was strong, deep, and long-standing.

Rocky broke the uncomfortable silence. "Billy, any idea where they've taken him?"

"No. Not yet, anyway." Looking up he asked, "Zordon, did Mondo give you any indication of where he was taking Tommy?"

NO. I HAVE GIVEN YOU ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE. ALPHA IS ATTEMPTING TO CONTACT MONDO NOW. WE WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR HIM TO REPLY.

"No! Zordon—we can't wait. Tommy won't survive long in his hands! There's got to be something we can do!" Jason exclaimed.

JASON, I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERN. HOWEVER, AT THE MOMENT, ALPHA AND BILLY ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO FIND TOMMY.

Zordon was right. Billy and Alpha were trying everything within their power to locate their missing friend.

The minutes passed so slowly, each one seeming like an hour. Jason and the four rangers paced around the power chamber, hoping that any second some news would come. Finally, alpha spoke up.

"I'm getting an incoming message from Mondo. Billy, please engage the viewing screen."

Billy flipped the right switches and the hazy screen cleared to reveal the figure of King Mondo, ruler of the infamous Machine Empire.

"Ah, hello rangers. Zordon. Glad you could join us. I have a little entertainment planned for you." The menacing tone in his metallic voice stirred both anger and fear in the hearts of the rangers. They knew what he was capable of.

He continued, sounding more sinister with every word. "Your leader, Zeo Ranger 5, is my special guest for the evening. But I don't think he's too happy about it," he said smugly. The ominous promise he had made about getting the rangers one by one beginning with the weakest replayed in their minds.

He moved aside to reveal Tommy, clad in a red t-shirt and red plaid boxers, bound to a pillar—his arm encircling it. He was attempting to struggle, but it was apparent that he was extremely weak.

Mondo said, "It would appear that he's not in top form. Awww, too bad. I had hoped he would put up more of a fight!"

Jason's fists were clenched and he was shaking. "Let him go, Mondo! He's no threat to you! Take me! _I'll_ give you a fight!" he yelled, raising his fists in the air.

"Hmmm . . . I don't know you, do I? Are you a ranger? No matter, you can be next if you wish. But this one," gesturing toward Tommy's bound form, "has given me nothing but trouble and I intend to make an example of him!" Mondo growled loudly. "Let the entertainment begin!" he announced and those present in the power chamber heard the sound of cheering. Mondo had apparently assembled a large audience to witness what he had planned for the ranger commander.

The rangers stood helplessly and watched as one of Mondo's minions moved over to their captive and yanked Tommy's hair aside roughly. He then drew a dagger and, pointing it at the red ranger's neck, slid the tip of the blade under the collar of Tommy's shirt. With one quick slice, he cut the shirt open revealing his bare back.

In the foreground, one of Mondo's generals stood toying with a cat-o'-nine-tails making sure the multiple strands weren't tangled. This was a particularly fearsome looking whip—it appeared to have something embedded in the ends of the strands. He snapped it a couple of times on the ground and then moved menacingly toward the helpless Tommy. It was apparent that the captive ranger was oblivious to what was coming his way.

Drawing his arm back, the general laughed as he launched the whip forward, coming down hard on Tommy's back, ripping the tender skin open with the first lash. The weakened zeo ranger shrieked in pain and struggled for all he was worth, but to no avail. His strength was already so depleted. Another blow came as swiftly and cruelly as the first, cutting deeper into Tommy's naked back. Deep gashes appeared and blood ran from every one as his head thrashed from one side to the other. Another blow. And another. Tommy screamed in pain with every lash—his back a bloody pulp. His tormentor just wouldn't stop. He was struck again and again with the medieval weapon. Finally, the searing pain overcame him and his body went limp, his head thrown backwards and hanging at an unnatural angle. A multitude of cheers went up from the assembled crowd.

In the power chamber, Jason went ballistic.

"Tommy!" he screamed as he pounded his fists on the nearest console panel, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. He had been prowling back and forth like a caged lion, watching the sickening scene, begging Alpha, Billy, and Zordon to do _something—anything._

Billy was doing his honest to god best to find a way through Mondo's force shield, but had come up painfully empty so far. Frustration engulfed his face as another attempt to break through failed.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed and pushed both hands through his hair. Rocky and Adam looked at each other briefly—they had never heard Billy swear before. Adam moved over to him and laid a hand on his back.

"Easy. You'll get through—we know you will." He patted his back and the former blue ranger gave him a serious look.

"I don't know, Adam. I'm running out of options," Billy said, sounding discouraged. The sound of sobbing came from the direction of Tanya and Kat. The tension in the room was palpable.

As Tommy went limp, the rangers hoped that he was only unconscious. He certainly wasn't moving. Rocky tried to say something helpful.

"He's unconscious now—at least he's not in pain." It didn't sound as good as it had in his head. He had meant well, but Rocky had a way of saying just the wrong thing . . . He noticed what he perceived to be a glare coming from Tanya. She was trying to comfort Kat without much luck. She started to say something to him, but the look on his face made it obvious that he had meant no harm.

All attention turned to the view screen as Mondo's voice was heard. "Wake him! I want him to fully experience our hospitality!" Moving over to Tommy, he grasped his cheeks firmly and shook his head. "Come on ranger, wake up! It's bad manners to sleep through a party given in your honour."

One of Mondo's aides walked over and held a small bottle to Tommy's nose—it was most likely a form of smelling salts. As the red zeo ranger stirred, the aide slapped his face and growled, "Wake up!"

Tommy's groans were heard by everyone in the power chamber. He tried to move but the pain was too great and he gave up.

Mondo waved his hand and the aide untied him and turned him around so that his gashed and bloody back was now against the pillar. His arms were lashed behind the column as the torture started anew.

At their King's signal, two cogs approached the helpless captive and started to beat him unmercifully. They backhanded him across the face causing his mouth to bleed. They punched him repeatedly in the stomach and ribs. They kicked him in the side. Tommy's eyes were closed, but the pain was evident on his face.

Mondo announced, "I want bones broken! Make him suffer!"

The ranger groaned loudly when a vicious fist landed in his lower rib cage, no doubt causing the newly-repaired bones to give way. Several more shots to his stomach caused streams of bright blood to run from his mouth, indicating severe internal damage.

A few more minutes of this and he'd be dead. Mondo must have sensed this and called a temporary halt. Not because he felt sorry for him, but because he had another torture planned and he didn't want Tommy to die on him just yet.

He held up his staff. "Stop," he ordered. The cogs obeyed immediately and stood down. With King Mondo's order, a general walked over and drew his sword.

Everyone in the power chamber was watching in absolute shock and horror. How could this be happening to their beloved leader? He was recovering from the injuries that almost took him from them only to be snatched away by this wicked monster who was apparently intent on killing him.

Jason was losing his mind. His dark face was red and the veins in his neck were standing out. He looked like he was going to explode. He screamed, "Do something, Zordon! They're killing him!"

Zordon's voice was as compassionate as any of them had ever heard it.

WE'RE TRYING, JASON.

"Well try harder, damn you!" Jason shot back. "What good is all this power, all these weapons, if we can't save Tommy?"

BILLY, ALPHA—HAVE YOU MADE ANY PROGRESS ON BREAKING THROUGH MONDO'S DEFENSES?

"No Zordon. We're still trying," Alpha said.

The general with the sword circled Tommy menacingly and then stopped behind him. He grabbed the rope that bound the ranger's hands and cut it with an upward slice. Tommy's semi-conscious, blood-soaked body fell forward and landed with a sickening thud on the stone floor. He laid face-down, arms twisted at his sides. There was no movement.

The general kicked and shoved him with his foot to turn him over. His face was turned so that the rangers could see it fully. The once-beautiful face was now marred by cuts, bruises, and blood—his eyes were turning black and his mouth was beginning to swell.

Mondo's maniacal voice was heard again. "And now for the 'piѐce de résistance'!"

He pulled a rod-shaped weapon from a holster and twisted one end. The baton made a crackling and humming sound.

"I think this is similar to what you humans call . . . a cattle prod." He said the words slowly, pausing for emphasis. "It is _very_ painful, I can assure you."

He turned and looked at the limp form on the floor in front of him. "Tsk tsk. He's . . . 'asleep' again. WAKE HIM UP!"

Again, Tommy was brought back to painful consciousness and he groaned weakly and tried to open his eyes. Kat burst out crying again. Tanya, sobbing as well, held her and stroked her hair. Adam buried his face in his hands and silently wept. Rocky just had to turn away.

But Jason . . . this was more than he could stand. He wanted to get his hands on Mondo so badly he could taste it. Tears still ran from his red eyes, but his face was the picture of rage. Billy had exhausted all known means of penetrating the force shield and he stood helplessly, looking completely defeated. He couldn't believe that he had so thoroughly let Tommy down.

'_They weren't going to be able to save him. Not this time.'_

As this knowledge was sinking into their minds, the ominous sound of Mondo's weapon came through the viewing screen loud and clear. A particularly ferocious-looking lackey of Mondo's stepped forward and the king gave him the baton. He laughed and strode over to the crippled form on the floor.

He reached down and pulled away the tattered remains of the red t-shirt. Then, he paused and chose his first target—Tommy's left shoulder. With a quick thrust, he stuck the baton into the flesh. Tommy's body jerked—"uhhh," he groaned and winced.

"More power!" Mondo demanded. The creature turned the end of the weapon and the humming sound grew louder. He picked his next target. Extending the baton, he pushed it into the ranger's stomach. A zapping sound could be heard when metal met skin. Again, Tommy's body jerked and jumped—harder this time. He threw his head from side to side and thrashed his legs. A loud moan came from his throat and he nearly choked as more blood came surging out.

"Full power!" Mondo yelled.

The creature again reached down and, this time, twisted the control as far as it would go. He looked down at the trembling body at his feet . . . and laughed. "This should do it," he snarled.

"Kill him! Kill him!" the crowd chanted. Mondo added his voice to the din. "Do it now!" he roared.

Tommy's face happened to be turned so that the other rangers could see it. He coughed weakly and whimpered, trying to open his eyes. Zordon made a desperate plea.

MONDO, THERE IS NO REASON TO KILL TOMMY. YOU HAVE CRIPPLED HIM ALREADY. I DOUBT THAT HE WILL EVER FIGHT AGAIN. IF YOU HAVE ANY HONOR AT ALL, SPARE HIS LIFE.

"Don't make me laugh, Zordon!" Mondo relied. "I have no intention of stopping now!" He again addressed the executioner. "Do it now! I order you!"

The creature stood triumphantly over Tommy and drew the crackling baton back. Then, almost in slow motion it seemed, he thrust the weapon into the center of Tommy's chest. Electricity arced and snapped as the full current was driven into his heart. His body convulsed and shook violently. He screamed with every bit of voice he had left. The creature did not pull the baton away. He kept it pressed to the ranger's chest, delighting in watching him writhe and howl.

All at once, Tommy arched his back and his neck snapped backward, mouth open, trying to breathe. The muscles in his neck contracted over and over as he was trying to take a breath. The creature finally removed the baton and watched.

His heart was giving out. Tommy's hands clutched his chest and his eyes were open wide in terror.

And then . . . it was over.

His body relaxed and went limp, eyes rolling back into his head. A stream of bright red blood ran from his open mouth. All was quiet. A final tremor shot through his body which made his head move in a sickening jerk.

Then . . . he was still.

The crowd erupted in cheers—the rangers stood in quiet horror. No one moved. No one spoke. The only sound was that of sobs coming from every single one of them. The near-silence was comforting somehow. If no one talked, no one screamed—somehow it wouldn't have happened. But it _had_ happened. They could still see the body of their leader lying grotesquely twisted on Mondo's cold stone floor. They stared at him.

The silence was shattered by Mondo's maniacal, mechanical laughter. As a final indignity, he moved over to Tommy's body, reached down and grabbed his long, brown hair in a fist and jerked his head up so that the rangers would be sure to see his motionless, expressionless face.

"Finally! I have eliminated the leader of the power rangers!" he announced in triumph. The crowd cheered and applauded their king. Then he addressed Zordon.

"Zordon, drop your shields and I will transport his worthless body back to you, if you want it. If not, I will feed him to my pets!" he snarled.

Zordon replied, his voice sad and quiet,

DROP THE SHIELDS, ALPHA, was all he said.

"Yes Zordon," Alpha replied in a tiny, almost inaudible voice. He pushed the appropriate buttons and said, "Okay. Shields down."

Zordon again addressed Mondo,

GO AHEAD MONDO. OUR SHIELDS ARE DOWN. ALPHA, BE READY TO RESTORE THE SHIELDS AS SOON AS TOMMY'S BODY IS SAFELY WITH US.

"Yes Zordon."

Tommy's body.

Those words assaulted the ears of his friends. They pierced deep into their brains and echoed there. Those words would never leave them, no matter how old they grew. That was certain.

The sound of a transporter beam was heard and the shimmering light began to be visible in the center of the room. A human form began to take shape on the floor and it gradually started to resemble their friend.

Tommy.

It was hard to believe that this battered, broken, and bleeding body was their vivacious, strong leader. They had never seen anyone in this state before.

Jason dropped like he'd been shot—openly sobbing—tears streaming from his reddened eyes.

"Oh god," he choked.

He reached out and gingerly laid an open hand on Tommy's stomach, like he was making sure he was real. After a couple of moments, he lifted his hand and looked at his palm—it was stained with blood. He closed his fingers into a fist. With the other hand, he pushed some blood-soaked hair out of his best friend's face. He stroked his bruised cheek.

The other rangers dropped to their knees, crying and reaching out shaking hands to touch Tommy's lifeless body.

"This can't be real . . . it just can't," Adam choked on his words.

Suddenly, grief overcame Jason. "Tommy," he cried as he gathered his friend up into his arms and embraced him. The limp arms hung down and his head fell back, causing Jason to cradle Tommy's head with his arm. He looked down at the bruised, bloody face and wished more than anything that those chocolate brown eyes would open and look at him. He dissolved into tears again and pressed his lips to Tommy's forehead.

The others were touching his shoulders and trying to talk to him, but he felt and heard nothing. His world, at that point, consisted of Tommy, himself, and more pain than seemed possible. He reached up and wiped his face—he was crying so hard that his vision was becoming blurry. He looked at those full, beautiful lips now cut and swollen in one corner. Slowly, he brought that face up to his and gently kissed Tommy's lips. His voice raw with agony, he managed to whisper, "I love you, Tommy. I always have."

Jason suddenly felt strange. He put a shaky hand to his forehead—was he just overcome with emotion? He felt like he was going to pass out. He took a ragged breath. He felt like he was falling . . .

_________

He hit the floor hard. He was seriously groggy. He pushed himself up on his hands and blinked several times. Shaking his head, he winced. "Ouch!" He had fallen on his shoulder and it was now protesting.

Suddenly it hit him. _'Tommy!!'_

He looked around. He was . . . in his bedroom.

"What the fuck?" Had Zordon transported him home and away from Tommy against his will? His anger started rising. "He has no right to do that!"

He reached for his communicator, ready to transport himself directly back to the power chamber when he noticed . . . no blood on his hands . . . or his clothes. He rubbed his head. God, he was confused.

But the light was beginning to dawn. Those terrible nightmares he'd been having for weeks had finally coalesced into one long, horrific dream.

'_Gotta think.'_

He tried to remember exactly what had happened. Some of it was a blur, but . . . he could recall one thing clearly—holding Tommy's lifeless body in his arms. That part hadn't been in his previous nightmares.

"Please be a dream. Please be a dream," he repeated to himself, hoping to God that Tommy was still alive. He paced his room—his mind racing. He decided on a course of action.

'_One way to find out for sure.' _He looked at the communicator that he had been wearing since that night in Switzerland.

"Zordon, please come in. This is Jason."

GO AHEAD, JASON.

"Zordon . . . um . . . to your knowledge, is Tommy okay?" He didn't really know what to say or how to say it—afraid of the answer.

TOMMY IS FINE, AS FAR AS I KNOW. I HAVE NO INFORMATION TO THE CONTRARY. ARE YOU ALRIGHT?

Jason breathed a sigh of relief. "Bad dream—never mind, Zordon. Sorry," he said into his communicator.

THAT'S OKAY, JASON. GET SOME SLEEP.

"Um . . . thanks. I'll try. Jason out."

His heart pounded. "Okay. Okay. It was a dream. Just a dream," he said quickly, trying to reassure himself.

He looked at his desk—half of his books and papers had been dragged out into the floor when he fell off his chair. He looked at the clock that had managed to stay on the desk.

'_10:15. Screw homework. I need to lie down.'_

Jason collapsed across his bed, leaving the lamp on. He wasn't ready for complete darkness yet. He was still so confused.

'_Damn dream. Thank God that's all it was.' _He yawned. _'I seriously need some sleep.'_

He tried to get comfortable. He lay on one side and then the other. He was still so keyed up from that unbelievably realistic dream that he couldn't be still. When he closed his eyes, terrible visions starting flashing through his mind—he could remember more of it now—Tommy screaming in pain as he was being whipped, blood streaming from his mouth when the cogs pummelled his stomach, and that weapon of Mondo's . . . he could still hear it crackle and snap as it was thrust into his helpless bro's chest.

Jason's breathing was getting faster and his heart was racing again. _'Calm down—it was just a dream. A horrible, fucked up nightmare.'_

He concentrated on slowing his breathing and trying to calm his nerves. _'Easy Jason—it wasn't real. Tommy is okay—he's safe in the hospital.'_

But somehow, the thought of Tommy being alone in that cold, sterile hospital room did not comfort him one bit. He looked at the clock.

'_10:35. It's gonna be a long night.'_

Something in his mind kept saying, 'You need to check on Tommy', but the logical part of his brain answered back, 'I can't—it's late. He's fine . . . it was just a nightmare. Go to sleep.'

But try as he might, he couldn't settle down. He even tried meditating as his sensei had taught him, but it was difficult. As soon as he would fix his mind on something soothing, blocking out all distractions, he would see visions of Tommy being murdered. It was like being in a pitch black room and having the light flash on and off. When the light came, what filled his eyes was excruciating. He could hear Mondo's infuriating laughter. He would block it all out, centering his mind once again in a calm, safe place only to have his peace shattered all over again.

'_Okay, this is definitely _not_ working.'_

Time check—11:00.

He got up and paced around his room. He went to the window and opened it, enjoying the cool night air. _'Maybe I need to go for a walk or something—maybe that'll clear my head.'_

That sounded like a good idea and he started changing clothes, exchanging his sweats for jeans, and grabbing a jacket. It was nearly Fall now and the nights were getting a bit chilly. He decided to layer another t-shirt over the one he already wore. He opened his drawer and pulled out an old, soft, white t-shirt with a Chinese dragon printed on it—it was one of his favourites. He slipped his shoes on and started quietly out of his room. Suddenly, he remembered his keys.

'_Don't wanna have to wake Mom up past midnight because I locked myself out of the house. That'd go over well . . .'_

The former red ranger crept stealthily down the steps, pulling on his leather jacket and quietly exited the house. He took a deep breath of cool air and stuck his hands in his jacket pockets. He started walking . . .

He really wasn't paying attention to where he was going. His mind was far too occupied for that. It really didn't matter anyway.

A sign was becoming visible in front of him. 'Angel Grove Municipal Park' it said. Jason started recalling all the good times he had spent in that park with his friends over the years—the picnics, the football games. He also remembered that they had been attacked there repeatedly by putties, tengas, and other assorted bad guys. He shuddered.

'_We really should have stayed out of that damn park, man . . .'_

Tommy had been snatched more than once out of that place. That thought led down an inevitable path. He suddenly started remembering tonight's nightmare—Tommy had been snatched away from a seemingly safe place. There was nothing anyone could do. He knew for a fact that it _could_ happen. A new thought occurred to him:

'Maybe it was a premonition.' He stopped dead in his tracks with that one. Too many times he had felt . . . uneasy . . . and hadn't understood why until something bad had happened. The night Kimberly had fallen off of the balance beam and ended up in the hospital he had had that damn feeling. He had it now. He couldn't shake the thought that something bad was going to happen to Tommy.

He had walked along the path until he came to a park bench. He sat down heavily and held his head in his hands. His breathing was getting harder and his heartbeat was pounding in his temples again. He nervously ran his hand through his hair. An awful image came rushing back into his head:

_Tommy's semi-conscious, blood-soaked body fell forward and landed with a sickening thud on the stone floor. He laid face-down, arms twisted at his sides. There was no movement._

And Zordon's voice: TOMMY'S BODY.

The same nightmare he'd been having, only much, much worse.

'_Someone's trying to tell me something.'_

That was it. He _had_ to do it. He _had_ to tell Tommy how much he meant to him. He had to at least try! And it had to be now, tonight, before he lost his nerve.

He wished he was close enough to the hospital to just walk over there, but no such luck. He would have to go home and get the car. He was already walking very quickly towards home and running over what he was going to say in his mind.

In short order, he reached his driveway and pulled his keys out of his pants pocket. He quickly glanced at his watch—12:15.

'_Mmm, after midnight—better not wake up the folks.'_

He decided to leave a quick note in the kitchen in case he wasn't back when his mom or dad woke up.

_'Wouldn't want to give them a coronary.'_

It was simple:

_ Had to go check on Tommy. Be back soon._

_ J._

Coming back outside, he decided against the car--it was too loud. He put on his helmet, grabbed his motorcycle by the handlebars and proceeded to push it out of the garage and up the street past his next door neighbour's house. Only then did he straddle the machine and start it up. He drove as fast as he dared toward the hospital.

_________________________________________________

Jason knew he wasn't supposed to be here this late. He also knew that if the nurses caught him that they wouldn't let him in to see Tommy and that couldn't happen. This was it—D-Day—time for action. He was shaking inside at the prospect of what he was about to do and he knew if he were prevented from accomplishing his mission tonight that he would have a hard time getting the courage up again.

'_Okay. Easy now, Scott. Just get to the elevators.'_

He moved quickly, not looking at the few people he passed. He got in and pushed the button.

"Good." But . . . the elevator just sat there.

_Sigh_. He quickly pressed the 'close doors' button several times.

"Come on!" he whispered.

"Okay, so far so good," he mumbled to himself while he walked rapidly and purposefully down the long hallway. But a minute or so later:

"Dammit!" he cursed when he saw a nurse headed his way.

'_Keep your eyes straight ahead and act like you have every right to be here.'_

She went right by him without so much as a look. He breathed again.

'_Not far now. Don't screw up.' _He managed the last several yards without seeing anyone.

Finally--Tommy's door. He put his hand on the handle . . . and froze. He couldn't move. Doubt was creeping back into his mind and threatening to stop him. He dropped his hand from the handle.

"I can't do this . . . I . . . DAMMIT!" He took a ragged breath and closed his eyes. "I can't _not_ do this," he said after a few seconds and pushed the door open quietly.

He stepped inside the private room and took a few steps forward. A light was on—Jason could see its glow even before he saw the bed. Stepping a little further into the room, he stopped in his tracks as he saw Tommy lying there asleep, a halo of light from the reading light surrounding him, looking like an absolute angel. The bed was still raised up, so Jason could see him very well.

He quickly closed his eyes and made the sign of the cross. "Thank you, God, for keeping him safe," he whispered. He looked up again and just enjoyed the sight for a minute. One of the hideous images from the dream popped into his head only to be overwritten by the picture in Jason's eyes. He felt himself beginning to tear up. He swallowed hard and just continued to gaze at the sleeping young man, trying to imprint this serene scene in his mind.

Tommy wasn't wearing a red t-shirt like in the dream. As a matter of fact, he was bare-chested—except for the book lying open on his stomach. His long, brown hair was splayed out across the pillow and his chest rose and fell with his soft breaths. Jason noticed the absence of the head bandage.

Putting his helmet down on the recliner and taking off his jacket, he moved closer, trying to be as quiet as possible. He really didn't want to startle him. He sat in the chair that was always by the bed, carefully reached over and picked up the book and placed it on the table. Tommy stirred a little and made a few "Mmm" noises, but didn't wake.

Jason, still shaking inside, reached out and slid his hand under his friend's. He briefly thought about all the time he had spent right here next to Tommy's bed holding his hand while he was still in the coma. He was so glad that was over. He gave his bro's hand a gentle squeeze and that was enough to bring Tommy out of his dream. His weak eyes blinked and tried to focus on the figure sitting next to him.

Jason smiled, "Hey sleepyhead."

Tommy knew that baritone voice as well as he knew his own.

"J-jase?" he said sleepily.

"Yeah bro, it's me. Sorry I'm so late," Jason said warmly, but his voice was shaking a bit.

Tommy smiled back and just looked at him. "That's okay. What time is it, anyway?" he finally said.

"Oh, it's probably going on 1 by now," Jason answered.

Tommy's eyes widened a bit. "Really?" He yawned in spite of himself. "Are you okay?" he asked, wondering what would bring him back to the hospital so late. "Why didn't you call me back?"

Jason tried to keep a smile on his face. _'Always worried about other people.'_

"Yeah, _I'm_ fine. I just wanted to make sure _you_ were," he replied. "I was going to call, but it was late and . . . see, I had this . . . nasty nightmare, like the ones I was having in Switzerland and . . . I couldn't shake the bad feeling that I had, so I decided to come and see for myself that you were okay." He was talking very fast and he sounded on edge.

Tommy, who was still trying to wake up from his drug-aided sleep, yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah bro, I'm fine. I even got rid of my bandages, see?" He pulled back the covers to reveal the brace on his lower ribcage.

"No more head bandage either, I see," Jason said as he reached up to brush back a few stray strands of hair from Tommy's forehead.

Tommy couldn't help but notice that his best friend's hand was shaking. _'That must have been some dream. Maybe talking about it would help.'_

"Jase, what was the nightmare about? Telling someone might help . . . wait, you were having nightmares in Switzerland?" That little admission of Jason's had finally registered in his mind.

"Yeah, for about a month before . . . I came home."

"You never said anything . . . ummm, were they about me?"

Jason was desperately trying to keep the horrible images out of his mind. "Yeah, they were, and I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you. I _did_ tell you that I'd been feeling uneasy and for you to be extra careful—remember that?"

Tommy's memory was worse now that it had been before. "No I don't, but that's not surprising, is it?"

Jason had to grin along with Tommy at that comment. Tommy was still curious, however.

"And this dream tonight was like those from before? Will you tell me about it?"

Jason sighed and looked apprehensive. "Tommy, I don't think you want to know—it was pretty bad."

"Well, you act like you need to talk and you came all the way up here in the middle of the night—tell me . . . please?"

"Okay, okay. I mean, they were just dreams, right?"

"Right. You can see that I'm fine—mostly."

Jason breathed deep and began. He was going to leave out the graphic details. "They started out rather fuzzy and disjointed. The only think I remember for sure is that you were being hurt. Gradually, I figured out that it was Mondo who was doing it and he had somehow captured you. Eventually, it escalated into . . . into torture. Tommy, he was doing terrible things to you and I was powerless to do anything about it. I have no idea why I was having these dreams, just that they wouldn't stop. And they kept getting more and more violent. Tonight was the worst. He . . ." Jason lowered his head and tried to steady himself. Those gruesome, unwanted images came flooding into his head.

"He murdered you, Tommy. I held your dead body in my arms."

Tommy took a sharp breath. He could only imagine how Jason must be feeling.

"Damn, Jase."

"Yeah, it was pretty fucked up. When I woke up, I was completely panicked until I was sure it hadn't actually happened. I even called Zordon to make sure."

"No wonder you're so shaky."

"And one of the first things that went through my mind was that conversation we all had this afternoon—about whether you were safe here or not. That's one reason why I had to come see you—to reassure myself that you were okay. If I lost you, I . . ." That last part slipped out before he could close his mouth.

Jason lowered his head again. He knew he needed to just go ahead and tell Tommy, but . . . damn, this was hard. Tommy could tell that Jason was somewhat overcome. He took over the conversation for a while.

"Jason, I know how awful nightmares can be and how they can affect a person. I'm sure you remember all those nights after Rita's spell was broken. I don't know what I would have done without you to comfort me. You lost a lot of sleep in those days, huh?"

Jason nodded. "I didn't mind—you needed the support," he said quietly.

"Yeah, I did. And you were there to give it to me, even though you really didn't know me all that well at the time. You know something, you're the only person I'll let see me cry."

"I remember you telling me that. I wish I could be as open with my feelings are you are." Even though he had been the one to say it, that sentence hit Jason hard. It was time for him to open up and he knew he had to go ahead and do it. He looked down and tried to gather his thoughts and find his courage.

Tommy could tell that Jason had something on his chest that he needed to get off. He reached over and gently cupped his cheek in his hand and turned his face up so that he could look him in the eyes.

"Jason. Talk to me," he said gently.

Jason put his hand over his friend's and pressed it more firmly against his cheek. Then he took hold of it and brought it down to the bed, holding Tommy's long, thin fingers in his own.

"You were starting to tell me something earlier and then you bolted out of here. What was that about?" Tommy's voice was smooth and gentle.

"To be honest, I lost my nerve. You seemed so happy talking to Sophia that I just couldn't continue with what I was saying."

"Jase, I'm not attracted to Sophia, if that's what you're thinking. I mean she's pretty and she's nice, but . . . no."

"But you said . . .Really? . . . I thought that you . . . you're not?"

A glimmer of hope reappeared in Jason's eyes.

'_Go ahead! What are you waiting for?'_

"Tommy, I have to tell you something that I've been wanting to say for a long time. I just can't put it off any longer. Someone reminded me recently that none of us are promised another day—the close call you had in ICU proved that to all of us."

"What do you mean? What close call?"

"I told you about it—you just forgot. One night while you were in the coma, you just started 'crashing,' as they call it. It was like your body was giving up—your blood pressure and heart rate suddenly dropped. Even your brain activity sharply changed—you nearly died, Tommy. I was the only one here, so the nurses came and got me and took me to your room."

Jason sighed, fighting back tears. "You were so pale and helpless looking—all the monitors were going off and the nurses were rushing around, giving you injections of what was probably adrenaline and calling doctors in from other departments."

He took a deep breath and Jason looked deeply into Tommy's wide eyes. "I seriously thought I was going to lose you that night. It was the scariest thing I've ever been through. Tommy, you are the best friend I've ever had—the brother I've always wanted. You're the most amazing person I've ever met. We are so much alike that it's scary. When you and I became friends," he brought his fist up to his chest, "you filled a gap in my life that I didn't even know was there."

Tommy was amazed at what he was hearing. Jason was echoing his thoughts perfectly.

"You came to mean more to me than I could understand at the time—more than I could deal with. That's one reason that I went to Switzerland—to try and sort out my feelings."

'_What? _That's_ why you left?'_ He wanted to ask a dozen questions, but Jason was on a roll and he wasn't about to interrupt him.

"I want you to know that I missed you terribly. Even though we kept in touch, all the emails and calls in the world weren't enough. I felt like a piece of me had been ripped away. That's why I decided to stay after I came home. Not because I missed home—because I missed _you_."

"You missed me that much?" Tommy asked, amazed.

Jason silently nodded.

"Wait, back up a second. One of the reasons you went to Switzerland was to try and sort out your feelings? Your feelings . . . for me? Am I understanding you right?" he asked cautiously, hoping to get the answer he so desperately wanted to hear. Suddenly, he was nervous too.

Jason was so frightened that any minute Tommy was going to reject him—he was a bundle of nerves. He couldn't look him in the face any longer.

"Yeah," was all he could manage.

Tommy smiled at him warmly. "Jase, I understand all about those kind of feelings. I've been dealing with them for a while myself. Even when I was dating Kim—I felt so guilty and . . . wrong . . . for having thoughts and feelings like that but I couldn't help it."

Jason's heart jumped. _'Could he be saying what I think he's saying? Oh my god. Maybe Zack _was_ right after all.' _

He raised his head and looked into the depths of those gorgeous eyes. He saw only love. He shook inside. _'I don't believe this.'_

Tommy was having trouble believing it too. The love that he saw in return in Jason's eyes made his heart leap.

D-Day images starting filling Jason's head. His inner voice demanded, 'Do it. Do it. Now's the time!' He steeled himself and took a deep breath. 'Go go go!' the voice said, urging him on.

He took Tommy's hand in his again. He made sure that their eyes were locked.

"Tommy, this is very difficult for me, so please bear with me." He took a steadying breath. "My feelings for you have long since grown beyond friendship and even brotherly love. For the longest time, I was so confused by what I was feeling. It scared me. I tried to deny it; I tried to run away from it. Nothing worked. I finally had to accept it. I hope you'll accept it." He paused. "I love you, Tommy . . ." His voice shook. ". . . with all my heart and soul . . . more than I ever thought I could love anyone."

There. He'd done it. Now . . . how would Tommy react? Jason watched Tommy's face closely, not knowing what to expect.

If Tommy had said that he wasn't surprised by his friend's confession, he would by lying. Not that he didn't have those feelings too, he just didn't know that Jason felt that way. And to that extent. And that he would come out and tell him! His eyes widened and his mouth opened a bit in surprise. He was trying to process everything that Jason had said, but he was having trouble. All sorts of thoughts were running through his head.

To Jason, the silence was deafening. Fear gripped him. _'Oh god, I've gone too far. Why won't he say something?'_ It had been less than thirty seconds, but it felt like a week.

"Tommy?" Jason said softly.

"Uh . . . ummm," Tommy stammered. He didn't want to say the wrong thing or say the right thing the wrong way. The end result was that _nothing_ came out. He just _looked_ at Jason.

Jason felt his heart beginning to break. Now he'd done it. He took a shaky breath.

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything. I'm sorry I Iaid all that on you. I . . . I'll just go," Jason said, nearly in tears. He stood abruptly and let go of Tommy's hand.

Tommy finally found his voice. "Jase . . ." he started, but was interrupted.

"No. No, it's okay. I'm going," Jason choked. He was backing away toward the door.

Tommy had to stop him. He said his name again, but Jason was picking up his jacket and was about to bolt. _'Fine, I'll just have to go after him.'_

He threw back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood slowly.

"Jason!" he raised his voice to get his bro's attention. "Stop!" he demanded.

Jason, surprised by the strong tone in Tommy's voice, looked up to see his weakened best friend walking slowly but purposefully toward him. He was dressed only in red plaid boxers.

"Jason, please. Don't leave."

Jason stood still and looked at Tommy's face. He couldn't read his expression.

"Don't make me chase you down, Jason Scott," Tommy said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. He took Jason's jacket out of his hands and threw it back on the chair. He then put a hand on each side of Jason's head and moved in close so that their faces were barely six inches apart.

"I'm sorry I had trouble speaking a minute ago. There's just so many things I want to say to you that I couldn't figure out what to say first. I guess the most important one first, huh?" He paused and breathed deep. "Jase . . . I love you too."

Jason's mouth fell open.

'_Did I hear him right? Is he just saying that or does he mean it?'_

"Do you mean that?" he had to ask.

"Bro, of course I mean it! I just can't believe that you feel the same way," Tommy said in reply.

Jason caught his breath and then reached for Tommy. Tommy moved his body into full contact and slipped his arms around the muscular back. Jason wrapped his hands around Tommy's waist—his skin was so warm and soft. They shared a long embrace. Not a hug—an _embrace_. One of Tommy's hands stroked Jason's short thick hair and the other massaged circles on his back. Jason's hands were drinking in the sensation of touching Tommy like this—they moved slowly on his warm skin, feeling the muscle underneath.

They fit together perfectly—like pieces of a puzzle.

Tommy snuggled against Jason's face, rubbing their cheeks together. Neither of them could think—they were both so overcome that they just stood there in each other's arms, feasting on the rush of sensations and emotions that they felt.

However, Tommy's weakened body could only stand for so long and all at once, his knees started to buckle. Jason held him up and then turned him around and led him back to bed—his arm around his waist.

Once he was back in bed, Tommy patted the place next to him, inviting Jason to sit. They smiled broadly at each other and intertwined their fingers.

"You make me weak in the knees, bro," Tommy said and they shared a laugh.

Jason gazed into Tommy's eyes. "If this is a dream, don't you dare wake me up!"

Tommy grinned at him. "Yeah," he said softly.

As much as they were enjoying these new sensations, both of them were feeling a bit odd about the whole thing. Tommy had never embraced another man like that and he had never felt masculine hands caressing his skin before. Jason had kissed a couple of different guys before in Switzerland when he was 'testing his theory' and he had 'dated' Mathias, but never had he felt a rush of emotion like that—with a guy _or_ a girl. They both felt the electricity between them. It was a bit frightening—it would take some getting used to—but it was _wonderful_.

Jason placed his free hand on Tommy's bicep and ran it up to his shoulder and back down. He leaned in slowly, gauging his bro's reaction. Tommy seemed accepting of his advance, so Jason again slid his arms around him carefully and pulled him close. Now he could feel the tickle of breath on his neck—it sent a tingle throughout his body. Jason finally got his hands in that silky hair—he ran his fingers through it several times. This felt better than he could have ever imagined! He drank in the scent of him.

Tommy's hands were busy too. He figured fair was fair, so he managed to get his hands under Jason's shirt so that he could feel some bare skin.

'_Why does he have on two shirts?'_

He couldn't believe how wonderful it felt to caress Jason's bare back. Using a little more pressure, he could feel the unbelievable muscle tone underneath. He ran his short nails down Jason's back and got a quiet moan in return. The deep sound of Jason's voice vibrated against his chest and it caused a definite reaction in Tommy's anatomy. He turned his face a bit and touched Jason's neck with his lips. Not a kiss, per se, but very close.

'_Should I? Would that be too much too fast? Is Jason holding back because he's uneasy or because he's afraid of scaring me?'_

But Tommy wanted a kiss, dammit! He had decided days ago that he was okay with his feelings for his bro—now the object of his desire had expressed his own feelings. Would there be something wrong with kissing him? The thought of pressing his lips to Jason's excited him—it also made him nervous.

'_Is there any difference between kissing a girl and kissing a guy? There's bound to be . . .'_

Maybe it was because Tommy had recently come to grips with the frailty of life or maybe he just wanted Jason that bad, but he decided to throw caution to the wind and he pressed his lips into Jason's neck.

Jason felt those soft lips and he nearly gasped.

'_He's kissing me! Oh my god!'_

His heart pounded—he turned his head enough to reach the side of Tommy's face—moistening his lips, he pressed them to his cheek.

Jason pulled back and then leaned in and touched his forehead to Tommy's. They both smiled, their hearts pounding. Then, like it had been choreographed, they tilted their heads, closed their eyes and nervously, cautiously, they moved forward until their lips met. Very softly they brushed against each other, loving what they felt. Gradually, they pressed together until they were sharing their first kiss. Neither man had ever felt so much from a simple kiss before. It was soft and gentle, not hot and deep, but it was as if electricity had arced between them. They nibbled softly at each other, becoming a little more intense after a minute or so. There was more pressure and intensity now, though still a rather tame kiss, as kisses go. They continued for several minutes, learning how the other felt and tasted.

Jason then felt the tip of Tommy's tongue brush his lips and fireworks went off in his head . . . and his groin. He stopped what he was doing and let Tommy lead the way for a moment. The quick little licks on his lips elicited another moan from Jason and he started breathing harder. His mouth was slightly open and Tommy took advantage by gingerly inserting his tongue through the open, warm lips. Not too far—just testing the water. He pulled back and Jason took the lead now. He pressed his mouth harder against Tommy's and they stayed locked together until both had to come up for air.

"Wow," Tommy said breathlessly.

"Yeah, wow," Jason replied, smiling.

"That was . . . incredible."

"Mmmm-hmmm."

After a moment or two of them gazing into each other's eyes, Jason reached up and ran a hand through those chestnut locks again.

"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do this?"

Tommy closed his eyes and smiled. He couldn't even begin to explain how he felt. He just knew that it felt . . . right. They embraced each other again, their nerves calming a little. Each loved the feeling of having the other in his arms.

"Jase?"

"Hmm?" he answered, stroking Tommy's back.

"You were going to tell me all of this earlier—before you ran out?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that. I guess I just got the wrong end of the stick."

"What did I say that you took wrong?"

"Well, we were talking about types and how I didn't like blondes anymore. You said that you had decided that Italian girls were your type and after the way you looked and smiled at Sophia . . ."

Tommy pulled away from Jason and looked at him oddly.

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did." He nodded and looked at Tommy just as oddly. Surely he could remember something he had said just this afternoon.

"No I didn't, Jase. I said that I had decided that _Italians_ were my type." He smiled. "I meant _you_, you bonehead."

Jason's eyes got big. "Seriously?"

'_Could I have been that stupid?'_

"Yeah, seriously. That's why I couldn't understand what went wrong. After you said that you were attracted to someone that you hadn't told—I was hoping you meant me—I was trying to tell you that I liked you and you just sorta freaked on me and ran out."

"I guess I was so nervous that I didn't hear you right. I just knew you were going to reject me."

Tommy took Jason's face in his hands. "Why would you think that? Jason, you're the best friend I've ever had. You're smart, funny, caring, kind—not to mention gorgeous. Why would I reject you?"

"Because I'm a guy and you're a guy—a guy who's never indicated to me that he's ever had a gay thought."

"So I guess all the flirting I've done over the last few months was lost on you, huh? Okay, mental note: Don't be subtle—you gotta hit him over the head." Tommy grinned and playfully cuffed him across the back of the head.

"Well, I'm not that thick. There were times when I thought maybe you were coming on to me, but . . . I suppose I was afraid to hope."

"So we've basically wasted at least a year that we could have been together, am I right?"

"Pretty much, but I think the time in Switzerland did me good, even if I did miss you so much it hurt."

"Okay, so from here on out we don't waste time, agreed? In fact, I intend on making up for lost time!"

Jason had been caressing Tommy's bare shoulders and playing with his hair a little more. He smiled broadly.

"Oh really? And just what do you have in mind, might I ask?"

Tommy returned the smile. "Oh . . . I'll think of something . . ."

Jason was just thinking how much promise that held when Tommy pulled him forward and softly pressed his mouth to Jason's. That long, warm, sweet kiss seemed to go on forever. When they were both out of breath, it ended and they just held each other again.

Tommy was lost in thought about how wonderful this felt and how much better it was going to get when he got out of the hospital when his thought process was interrupted by a shiver. Not a shiver of excitement—a cold shiver. He was still bare-chested and the room had gotten cooler as the night wore on. Jason looked at him questioningly.

"Cold?"

"A little," Tommy replied.

"It's no wonder, sitting here half naked—where's your clothes?" Jason asked, grinning.

"I'm not putting that stupid hospital gown back on. That's out," Tommy said matter-of-factly.

Jason got up from the bed and walked over to the wardrobe. "Do you have any other clothes here?"

"I don't know. See anything in there?"

Opening the doors, he turned back and said, "Nope. Cupboard's bare, dude."

"Damn. Guess Mom didn't want to bring any clothes up here yet—she's afraid I'm gonna make a run for it!" Tommy grinned. He was annoyed, though. "I'll just have to be cold." He pulled the covers up to his neck.

Jason looked down and then it dawned on him. He walked back over to the bed and started to pull the white t-shirt off over his head. Unfortunately, he accidentally grabbed the black one underneath it and both shirts came off. Tommy laughed and winked at him.

"What are you doing, stripping for me?"

Jason, never one to miss a snappy comeback, ran his hand up his bare torso and licked his lips provocatively. Then he gave him a sexy grin and said, "Nah. Not yet, anyway. Your heart couldn't take it right now."

'_Damn. He's probably right,'_ thought Tommy as his body reacted again to the lusty look on Jason's handsome face. He cleared his throat nervously and adjusted the covers so as not to be so obvious.

Jason just winked at him and then pulled the two shirts apart and turned them right side out saying, "One for you and one for me."

He held the soft white t-shirt out to his bro. Tommy took the shirt and put it on—it smelled like Jason. Pulling the black shirt back on, Jason caught sight of his watch—2:15.

'_Oh shit. I gotta get home.'_

Tommy saw him looking and asked, "What time is it?"

When Jason told him, Tommy said that he'd better go. If the nurses caught him here this late . . .

The door opened--Tommy caught his breath. "Busted," he mumbled.

The night nurse stopped in her tracks, surprised. She hadn't expected to see Tommy awake and she _really_ hadn't expected to see anyone else standing there.

"What are you doing here this late? He needs his sleep," she directed toward Jason, sounding annoyed.

"Sorry," was all that Jason could manage.

Tommy spoke up. "He brought me something from home and we had something to discuss. Guess we lost track of time."

"It couldn't have waited until tomorrow?" the nurse asked.

"Nope. Too urgent," he smiled at Jason who had turned back to face him. Jason gave him a wicked grin.

"He was just about to leave. Weren't you?" he directed at Jason.

The former red ranger turned to the nurse. "Yeah. I was getting up to leave just as you came in."

"Okay, but don't make a habit out of this." She smiled at the two of them and left.

"Whew. That went better than I thought," Tommy said, relieved.

"Yeah, but I really do need to go."

"Okay. Come see me tomorrow?"

Jason smiled broadly. "Just try and keep me away! I'll see if I can arrange a little one-on-one time before the others come, okay?" he asked, wanting more than anything to have Tommy all to himself.

"Absolutely. I'd love that."

Jason picked up his jacket and helmet and then walked back over to the bed. "Goodnight bro," he said in a wonderful, warm, deep tone. He leaned down and their lips met again in a gentle, soft kiss.

"Goodnight," Tommy whispered back. "See you soon."

"Mmm-hmm," Jason nodded and smiled. He went toward the door and turned around once more to look at Tommy.

'_This had better not be a dream.'_ He left quietly.

Tommy turned out his light and snuggled into his bed. He ran his hands over the soft t-shirt that Jason had given him to wear. Pulling the collar up a little, he could smell the faint scent of Jason's cologne. He lay there for quite a while, reliving the kisses he had just shared with his bro. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep feeling better than he had in a long time.

_____________________________________________________

_Author's Notes: Whew! Long chapter! I could have cut it off after Jason's dream, but I was afraid I'd receive death threats if I left you guys hanging like that! After all, it is Christmastime! I have added a link to my MySpace page on my profile—I have lots of nice pictures of Tommy, Jason, and Adam—if anyone's interested. As always, please leave lots of reviews! I want to hear from all you wonderful people!_


	14. Dinner and a Show

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, or whichever holiday you celebrate!! Wanted to get this chapter published on Christmas Eve, but just didn't have the time. It's still rated Teen for now, though I may consider upping the rating soon.

**Chapter 14—Dinner and a Show**

Day 11—Tuesday

School the next day was difficult to put it mildly. Impossible was more like it. Jason was running on about three hours of sleep and now he was sitting in first block History, trying his best not to pass out. It wasn't working.

His head bobbed a couple of times and his pen fell out of his hand. Mrs. Parazzo, who had been walking around the class lecturing, stopped at his desk and looked down at him.

She said quietly, "Mr. Scott, I realize that the breakdown of the judicial system is probably not your idea of gripping material, but please try to pay attention."

He looked up at her, the fatigue evident on his face. "I'm sorry, Mrs. P. I had another late night at the hospital last night," he said, trying to appeal to her sympathies. He looked sadly at the empty desk next to his that he was told his friend used to occupy. He looked back up at her.

She was well aware, as all the teachers were, of the trauma that both young men had been through: Tommy being badly hurt while helping to save lots of people from the collapsing building and then being in a coma, nearly dying. Jason coming home from Switzerland to be with his best friend and sitting with him for days on end, waiting for him to wake up—possibly changed forever by the brain damage he had sustained.

"I thought Tommy was doing better, Jason," she said gently.

"He is generally, but . . . he's still having some problems--nightmares and such. I'm the only one he'll talk to," he replied, tying to satisfy her curiosity without revealing anything.

"I see," Mrs. Parazzo said. She understood what sitting in a hospital for hours on end will do to a person. Her own son, Michael, had nearly died in a car accident a few years back. She remembered those days vividly.

"It's okay, Jason. Put your head down. You can catch up later." She patted his shoulder and touched his dark hair. He reminded her so much of Michael—always caring more for his friends than he did for himself.

Jason felt a twinge of guilt that he hadn't been exactly straightforward with his teacher, but all of the elements were true—just rearranged a bit. If this were accounting class, it would have been called massaging the numbers. He was thankful for her kindness though, and laid his head down on his folded arms. He caught a glimpse of Tara's face, a nice-looking redhead that sat a couple of rows over. He thought that maybe she liked him and she was a sweet girl, but after last night, she didn't stand a snowball's chance in Hades. But her kind smile and the worried look in her eyes was comforting to him. He gave her a small, tired smile and closed his eyes.

'_Hope I don't snore.'_

____________________

He sank into his seat—third block English. Only lunch and math to go now.

'_Ugh, trig class is going to be horrible and Dr. Takashima is nowhere near as understanding as Mrs. P.'_

A familiar face appeared in the doorway. _'Here we go.'_

Zack came straight over to him, looking like he was on a mission. Jason had been purposely avoiding him all morning, trying to figure out what to tell him so that the former black ranger wouldn't cause a scene. Now it was unavoidable.

"Jase, man . . . I've been looking for you everywhere. Where you been?"

Jason couldn't resist playing with him a bit. He'd tell him in his own good time.

"Well, let's see—1st block History, 2nd block Psychology, and," gesturing to his desk, "here."

Zack rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. By the way, you look like hell."

The former red ranger gave him a look of mock indignance then smiled at him. "Thanks buddy . . . but no, I've been in a rush all day. What's up?"

"You tell me. Have you thought anymore about what I said?" Zack probed.

"Yeah, I thought about it . . . a lot. I don't know, Zack. I kinda still think you're nuts," Jason answered, smiling inside but not letting the cat out of the bag just yet.

Zack leaned closer, "I'm not nuts, I promise. It's there—just talk to him!" He was being very insistent. Luckily, the bell rang just then.

Mrs. Applebee came in to start class and Zack had to take his seat. Jason smiled and shook his head. Zack _had_ been dead on target, but could he give him the satisfaction of knowing that? He'd never live it down.

________________

The final bell rang not a moment too soon. This had been one hell of a day. Jason had talked to the guys over lunch, amid concerns for his well-being and Tommy's safety. He finally talked to Zack alone.

"Zack . . . okay, I've made a decision—I'm going to talk to him. Do you think you could keep the others away for an hour or so?" Jason asked.

Zack, grinning his head off, said he would be only too happy to detain their other friends so that Tommy and Jason could have time to talk.

After school he saw him in the hall.

"On your way?" Zack questioned.

"Yeah, I'm going. And Zack . . . thanks man." He stuck a finger in the middle of Zack's chest. "But you had _better_ be right about this!"

"I _am_. Now just go!" Zack pushed him off, afraid he'd lose his courage if he didn't go right over there.

"I'm going, I'm going," Jason tried to sound apprehensive. Inside, he was laughing. Once he'd turned away from Zack, he smiled at his deceit. He did, however, stop by the restroom to make sure he didn't still 'look like hell'.

'_Thanks Zack . . .'_

______________

Tommy had slept all morning. He was so at ease about everything and so tired from being awake in the wee hours of the morning that he had refused to 'rise and shine' when his nurse came in with breakfast. She was insistent though, so he ate the poor excuse for food and went right back to sleep.

That had lasted until about 11, when the 'orderly queen' came in to take him to physical therapy. He begrudgingly went and did what he was asked, only because he wanted to go home so badly. He did feel stronger today, though. Maybe getting his mind cleared had helped his physical condition as well.

After lunch, he took a shower and then charmed Sophia into helping him get all the knots out of his hair. It didn't take a lot of convincing, though. She apparently enjoyed sitting on his bed and combing through his long, thick, wet hair. At home, he would have dried it straight, but as he didn't have a blow dryer, he let it dry in its naturally wavy state. He made sure to shave and brush his teeth really well. He felt like he was getting ready for a date.

'_Well . . .'_

He put Jason's t-shirt back on after his hair was dry—it still smelled like him. He inhaled Jason's scent and recalled the emotions of their rendezvous. He couldn't wait to see him again.

'_That better not have been a dream last night!'_

About 3:15, the door opened and there he was, looking like the most gorgeous thing Tommy had ever seen!

'_Wow, just . . . wow.'_

He realized that he was looking at Jason differently now. Those Italian good looks—dark eyes and hair, tanned skin, full lips . . . and his chest and shoulders were threatening to burst the seams of that black t-shirt. He smiled broadly, his eyes lighting up at the sight of him.

Jason smiled back, just as broadly. Tommy was so beautiful. This was the closest he had looked to his old self since he had gotten hurt. His long hair was hanging loosely around his face, and those big, chocolate eyes were shining.

"Hey, nice shirt bro," Jason said, sitting on the side of the bed.

"Hey yourself." He pulled the t-shirt up from his belly. "What? This old thing?" he smiled so big that Jason's heart jumped in his chest.

"It's too big for you," he reached over and pulled at the hem, grinning.

"Yeah, well . . . the bodybuilder it belongs to is a beast!" He laughed along with Jason at that.

Jason stopped and pouted at him, "Am not."

They both laughed again. Tommy reached out and laced his fingers with his bro's.

"How was school?"

"Oh, it was school, you know. I think I slept through most of it with my eyes open—don't remember much about today." He grinned.

"Yeah well, that's what you get for staying out 'til all hours of the morning with strange men . . ." he winked at his bro.

Jason laughed. "You're not all that strange. Well . . . on second thought . . ." he glanced skyward with a half grin.

That comment earned Jason a playful punch on the arm.

"So . . . that wasn't a drug-induced dream last night. It _did_ really happen, right?"

Reaching over to stroke Tommy's hair, Jason said, "Yeah it did—unless that dream was mutual!"

"Good. I was going to be pissed if we had to stumble through all that again."

"Hey, all of it wasn't painful. But man, was I nervous."

"Me too. Sorta still am, to tell you the truth."

"Same here, but you're worth a bad case of the nerves."

The same sort of thoughts were going through both Jason and Tommy's minds: _'I want to touch him and kiss him so bad, but if I seem overeager, I'll scare him off.' _This relationship was so new, and so scary, that neither of them knew quite what to do or when to do it.

When Tommy looked at Jason, he still saw his bro and his best friend, but now there was something else there. That attraction and desire that had been growing for months was finally out in the open and he was afraid he might go too far too fast. Jason was dealing with the same dilemma. Because of their bond, they seemed to pick up on each other's anxious vibes.

Jason cupped Tommy's cheek in his large hand and gazed at him. Tommy had a look in his eyes that Jason would come to know very well. Instinct took over and they leaned together and brushed lips. Sparks went off in both their minds.

They weren't as tentative as last night—they readily pressed their lips together in an intensifying kiss that lasted quite a while, it seemed. The ice finally broken, Jason began nibbling at Tommy's soft lips, pulling on his lower lip a bit. Tommy gave Jason's lips a quick lick and then slowly drew his tongue across Jason's mouth from one side to the other, pausing a bit in each corner.

The feeling emanating from his lips was so sensual that Jason couldn't help but moan softly and open his mouth slightly. Tommy slid his wet tongue a little way past those parted lips and coaxed his love's to come out and play. Touching a bit cautiously at first, they were soon caressing each other and exploring the other's mouth in detail. Tommy was the one that moaned this time—it was the first time that Jason had heard that pleasure-filled sound coming from him—God, it excited him! They might have been nervous at first, but now that they had gotten started—it was on!

Jason felt a certain part of his anatomy getting more and more insistent for attention.

'_No, not yet. That'll have to wait.'_

They had only just kissed. He wasn't about to suggest that Tommy touch him like that just yet. The same thing was happening to Tommy, but he didn't care. It wasn't the first time his best friend had turned him on. As a matter of fact, the last time was just earlier that same day.

They had come up for air again. Tommy's hands found their way under Jason's shirt and began to rub his sides and caress his waist, slipping just his fingertips under the waistband of his bro's jeans. Jason couldn't believe that Tommy was being as forward as he was. He had always believed him to be a bit shy—maybe a little reserved. Even when they were dating, he had never seen Tommy touch Kim all that much. Sure, a little kiss here and there, an arm around her from time to time, and they held hands a lot, but that was it.

'_Maybe he's just not a public affection type, but in private . . . he's a bit of a tiger! Mmm . . . this is gonna be fun!'_

He decided to stop holding back—Tommy was obviously not timid. Jason pulled up the hem of Tommy's shirt and ran his nails up and down his spine, causing his love's back to arch. Tommy laid his head on Jason's shoulder and then pressed his wet lips into his neck. Jason continued to rub the warm, soft skin and his hands eventually found their way around to Tommy's chest. Laying back and closing his eyes, he surrendered himself to his bro's caresses. He licked his lips and opened his mouth a bit, his breathing becoming faster.

Jason's short nails ran across his nipples and Tommy's head pushed backwards into the pillow--he let out the sexiest noise that Jason's ears had ever had the privilege of hearing. The former red ranger smiled a wicked little smile.

'_Uh huh. You like that, huh? Mental note.'_

Tommy's left hand had come to rest on Jason's mid-thigh and now he squeezed a bit and moved a little higher. His eyes were still closed, but he wore a smile of utter satisfaction. He alternated scratching gently and squeezing Jason's thigh. He then ran his hand low across his abdomen and down onto his other thigh where he continued to squeeze and caress.

Jason's right arm went around Tommy's waist and his left hand stroked through that wonderful mane. He leaned down onto him until their chests met and he pushed his tongue into Tommy's parted lips. They devoured each other's mouths—their deepest, most intense kiss yet. Their hearts were beating wildly in their chests—the lust rising with every moment. Very little thought entered their feverish minds. Not thinking—just feeling. Neither of them had ever experienced desire like this—it was all-consuming.

Hands roamed free and mouths kissed cheeks, necks, earlobes, anything they could get to. It was a good thing that hospital doors don't lock.

Tommy finally turned his head away from Jason just a little—just enough to indicate for him to stop. Jason pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Nothing," Tommy smiled, but he looked a bit winded.

'_He _is_ in the hospital, dude. Back off a bit,'_ Jason chided himself.

"I'm fine." He ran a couple of fingers all the way down Jason's chest to his waist. "Just getting a little tired."

"Yeah. Maybe we should chill," Jason offered.

Tommy's beautiful smile met his eyes. "Just wait till I get my strength back. You're in for it . . ."

"Mmmm. Is that a promise?" Jason winked.

"You know it."

They embraced again and just enjoyed holding each other for a while. A knock was heard at the door. They parted and straightened up quickly. Jason got up, arranged himself, and answered the door. It was Zack, along with Rocky and Adam.

"Hey guys. Give me just a couple more minutes, okay?"

"Sure," Zack said, his eyes questioning. "You guys okay?"

"We're great . . . five minutes?" he asked, looking at the trio.

"You got it. No problem," answered Zack.

Jason walked back into the room and told Tommy that the guys were here to see him.

"Now, if Zack asks, we had a long talk about our feelings for each other and everything is good between us. You don't have to reveal anything that you don't want to."

Tommy cocked his head to the side with a puzzled look.

"See, Zack has been after me for months to tell you how I felt. When I nearly lost you, he reminded me that none of us are promised another day and I should go ahead and do it. He seems to pick up on things that the others don't. He could tell that we were into each other—even if we were too nervous to realize it. I haven't told him about last night and I don't know if I will. That's ours."

Tommy smiled up at him warmly. "Okay, I understand."

He gave Jason a mischievous little look that told his bro that they were on the same page.

"I asked them to give us five minutes," Jason said.

Tommy raised his arm toward him. "Perfect. Enough time for another kiss. Come here."

_____________

Some minutes later, another knock was heard and Jason again went to the door, stopping to give Tommy a wink and a wicked grin.

Adam and Rocky entered the room straight away and struck up a conversation with their leader. Zack hung back a bit, just inside the door, trying to get some information out of the former red ranger.

He looked at him closely with questioning eyes, looking for any indication of how things went. He hoped he'd get the full debriefing later, but he was dying of curiosity and just _had_ to know.

"Well?" Zack whispered, standing close to Jason.

"Well, what?" he responded, the very picture of innocence.

Zack fumed. "You know very well 'what'! How'd it go?"

Jason wasn't going to give in that easily. "How'd what go?" A big smile slowly took shape.

'_Jason Scott, you are so infuriating sometimes!'_

Finally, he took a little pity on Zack—but just a little.

"I told you, we're great," he said, still smiling and went on into the room, leaving Zack behind.

He walked over and resumed his place on the edge of the bed, looking at Adam and Rocky.

"He's starting to look like his old self, don't you think?" Jason queried the blue and green rangers.

Adam spoke up. "Yeah, we were just saying that, weren't we, Rock?"

He agreed. "Yep. He's getting back to heartbreaker level again, making the rest of us look like chopped liver," he pouted.

"Hey, speak for yourself. I've always considered myself filet mignon," Adam protested and tossed his hair.

Everyone laughed at that—Tommy clutched his stomach.

"Aww man, don't talk about food! Especially good food! I can't wait to get a good meal!"

Zack looked a bit closer at Tommy. He did look a lot better—stronger . . . happier, even.

'_I wonder . . .'_ He couldn't wait to have that talk with Jason.

Rocky interrupted his thoughts. "Tommy, we're planning a big bash for you—when you're stronger—and I promise the famous DeSantos cheesecake will be there! Plus a few other of Mom's specialties."

The red ranger smiled and licked his lips. "Seriously? I can't wait for that! I need to put some pounds back on." The only mom who could rival Mrs. DeSantos' cooking was Mrs. Scott. What was it with Italian moms?

Jason had been sitting quietly, looking from one to the other, but mostly shooting knowing looks at Tommy who returned them as covertly as possible. It seemed to wash over Rocky and Adam, but Zack, Mr. Detail, took notice of every one of them.

Adam tried to make his leader and friend feel better. "Awww, you don't look like you've lost all that much weight." He was lying.

It was obvious to anyone who knew him that the red ranger was now a lot thinner, not emaciated, but definitely not in fighting form.

"Do you know how much weight you've lost?"

"Not exactly, but it's gotta be around 15-20 pounds."

Now, 15 or 20 pounds might not seem like a huge amount, but for an athlete who had very little appreciable body fat to begin with, it was _a lot_. It meant that he had lost some muscle mass and it was going to take a little while for him to regain his form.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Tom," Jason said. "Between Rocky, my house, your house, and of course Ernie, we'll have you back in shape in no time."

Mentioning Ernie made Tommy think about the Youth Center and how often lately he had wished he was there. So many friends, so many memories . . . most of them good. He couldn't wait to walk through those doors again. Hell, at the moment, he wouldn't have minded going to school. _Anywhere_ but where he found himself.

Zack piped up. "Hey Tommy, you wanna watch a movie? I've got "Men in Black" and "Enter the Dragon". He held up the tapes for him to choose.

"Ummm . . ." Tommy was considering each one. "How 'bout . . ." he pointed to the tape in Zack's right hand ". . . that one."

"Men in Black—excellent choice, sir," Zack replied, laying the tape on one arm—you'd have thought he was a wine steward. He popped the tape into the VCR and settled into one of the recliners. The others made themselves comfortable in the various chairs—Jason in the one right next to Tommy's bed.

They all enjoyed the movie, laughing way too loudly from time to time. At some point, Tommy had pulled the covers up to his chest and dropped his left hand over the side of the bed, still completely covered. He touched Jason's thigh, but didn't turn to look at him. He squeezed and stroked the strong leg a little. The other guys were engrossed in the movie, so they didn't notice when Jason shifted in his chair, adjusting his proximity to the bed. He touched the caressing hand with his own. He stroked Tommy's long fingers and eventually they intertwined. A quick glance told them that no one else was the wiser. Jason gave Tommy that patented, mischievous grin of his.

Secrets were fun.

Zack eventually excused himself to the restroom and on his way back, he noticed the bed covers draped over the side, obscuring half of Jason's lap. Then he realized what was going on and had to absolutely force himself not to give them away.

'_YES! I knew it! I knew it!'_ he gloated to himself.

Jason looked up and saw the monumental grin on the former black ranger's face.

'_Busted . . . Oh well.'_ Jason gave him a quick grin and a wink and turned his attention back to the movie. _'I'm never gonna hear the end of this.'_ He grinned again in spite of himself and gave Tommy's hand a squeeze.

Tommy gave him a fast glance and Jason nodded his head slightly in the direction of the madly grinning Zack. The red Zeo ranger looked slowly up at him and met his knowing eyes. The look on his face told Tommy that he knew enough to warrant that ridiculous grin. Tommy lifted his eyebrows slightly and smiled.

'_Thank you, Zack. I owe you one . . . or two . . . or fifty.'_

The movie was within ten minutes of being over when the door to Tommy's room opened and in walked his mom. She was smiling like she knew something.

"Mrs. Oliver, nice to see you again," Adam said politely.

She smiled at him over her glasses. "Nice to see you as well, Adam," looking at each of them in turn, "Rocky, Zack, Jason."

She walked over to her son's bed, leaned over, and kissed him on the forehead. She was glad to see him looking so much better and really enjoying some time with the boys. She was about to make him a whole lot happier.

She crossed her arms and then brought a finger to her chin. "Now let's see, what one thing could I tell you that would make you happier than anything else?"

"That I can get the hell outta here," Tommy said, not even needing to think about it.

"Thomas!" She admonished him for his language, but then smiled. "Well . . ." she lifted her arms in surrender. "You win. Get your stuff." Her eyes lit up and she gave him a big smile.

"No way! Really?" He nearly jumped out of the bed. "Yes! Finally!" His face was lit like a Christmas candle.

All of his friends congratulated him, jumped up to help him pack his few belongings, or hugged him. Jason was particularly excited and happy for Tommy. He couldn't wait for his bro to get back to a normal life—a life with him in it.

'_Not to mention a few extra perks.'_ He smiled warmly at Tommy and patted his arm.

Mrs. Oliver told her son that he could leave after the doctors had come by and given him discharge orders, so he should get his things ready to go. She said that she had asked Tommy's dad to bring some clothes to the hospital so that he would have something to wear home.

"So, I'll be back as soon as I wrap up some stuff down in the business office, okay?"

"You got it!" He was so excited!

Jason looked up. "Is it okay if I hang out with him until then? I'll make sure he's ready to go," he said to Tommy's mom.

"Absolutely, dear," she smiled at him. She had always liked her son's best friend.

"Bye guys! I'm sure I'll see you all at the house soon." She would, too. Suddenly she remembered something else. "Oh, and you're getting your butt back to school next week . . . if you're up to it." She grinned at him and left.

"Cool. Well . . . it's better than here," Tommy said.

Adam, Rocky, and Zack left soon after and Jason started getting together what few things Tommy had. Every few minutes, he would walk over and give Tommy a little kiss until he was finished and he sat down in his accustomed place.

He reached up and stroked Tommy's cheek and looked him in the eyes. "I'm so glad you're going home. A few short days ago, I would have never thought this day was coming. It's great," he said softly and embraced the man he loved.

Tommy was _so_ happy. He was getting out of that retched hospital, the doctors didn't think he was going to have any lasting effects from his injuries—though it would take time to be sure—and he had Jason back—in ways he had never dreamt of.

They didn't know it at the time, but the two of them were starting down a path that would lead to unbelievable highs and equally unbelievable, heartbreaking lows.

___________

Michael Oliver came in later, all smiles, carrying a gym bag of clothes for his son.

"Ready to get outta here?!" He knew the answer to that!

"The sooner the better!" came the reply.

After he changed, Tommy sat down on his bed, glad to have real clothes on for a change. "Dad, I want Jase to come home with us—to help me get settled. Is that okay?"

Michael glanced over at his son's best friend and smiled. "Sure, I don't see why not."

A couple of minutes later, Sophia stuck her head in the door. "Tommy? Hey, I was hoping I'd get up here before you left."

"Hey Sophia. Nice to see you again. You know Jase, and this is my dad."

"Hello Mr. Oliver, Jason. I heard that Tommy had been paroled and I wanted to say my goodbyes before he got away."

"Yeah, he's pretty anxious to get outta here, I think," Michael said, smiling.

"You know it. I've been so bored."

"Well, I'm really glad that you've healed enough to go home. Now promise me that you'll take care of yourself and come back to see us, okay?" Sophia said, really hoping to see Tommy again real soon.

"I will, on both counts. Thank you for everything."

"No problem. I'll tell James to keep an eye out for you at school. Maybe I'll see you soon."

"You will." After getting a quick hug, she left and they got all of Tommy's things together and waited for Mrs. Oliver to come back.

_________

At the Oliver's house, Jason helped Tommy up the stairs to his room. Surprisingly enough, he didn't need all that much help. He was stronger than Jason had thought. When they entered Tommy's bedroom, both of them sat on the bed. Tommy smiled because he was so happy to be back in comfortable, familiar surroundings—his bed, desk, dresser, etc.

'_God, it's good to be home.'_

Jason hadn't been in Tommy's room since that short trip home in the summer. Nothing much looked different except there were a lot of framed pictures on the wall in amongst the music and martial arts posters. Beside Tommy's bed was one of the pictures from the lake in a very nice frame. Jason picked it up and turned it toward Tommy.

"You like this one, huh?"

Tommy blushed slightly. "Yeah . . . what's not to like? You're gorgeous in that picture."

He was, too. Jason was wearing tight red swim trunks that fit him like a glove. They were supposed to lace and tie at the waist, but of course, they weren't. The drawstring had long since disappeared and the waistband was left open and folded down. They really accentuated his beautifully rounded ass and his other considerable 'gifts'. His skin was nicely bronzed with no tan lines that Tommy could find. How he kept such a beautifully even tan in Switzerland was anybody's guess. The sun glistened off of the oil that had been lavished on his biceps, pecs, and abs. His dark, tussled hair was still damp—he wore a thoroughly seductive look on his handsome face.

"You think so?" Jason asked.

"Oh definitely. You should model, bro."

"Oh please. I don't know about that."

Actually, he had been approached by a couple of photographers but he had declined. He felt weird about the whole thing. Eventually though, his exhibitionist streak would win out.

Tommy started snickering about something and Jason had to know.

"Okay, give—what's so funny? Me modeling?"

"No. I was serious about that. I was just remembering something about that day at the lake."

"Gonna tell me, love, or just let me wonder?"

'_Love? That's kinda nice.'_

Tommy grinned. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise to keep it between us, okay?"

Jason got comfortable—he loved secrets.

"Okay, I promise. Tell me."

Tommy leaned back against the headboard.

"Would you happen to remember that Rocky and Adam wore t-shirts all day while you and I went bare-chested?"

"Ummm . . . no. I guess I didn't really notice."

"I overheard a conversation that the guys were having a couple of days later. Tanya and Kim said the only reason they wouldn't take their shirts off was because they couldn't handle the comparison."

Jason giggled. "Seriously?!"

Tommy grinned. "Yeah, but Adam and Rocky got 'em back. They told the girls that they should really try to keep from being so obvious. When asked what they were talking about, the boys told them that they saw the girls' eyes pop out of their heads when they saw you in those trunks."

Jason grinned and turned a little pink. He pointed to the picture and said, "Those old things?"

"Yeah, those old things. Let's just say they wrap the package nicely." He dropped his gaze to Jason's lower region and a wicked grin appeared on his face.

Jason blushed in spite of himself. He told Tommy that he had gotten a lot of mileage out of that picture of him from the lake. He told him about his conversation with Jacques in which he showed him that photo. He also told him about holding onto it in the ICU Waiting Room when Tommy had been so close to dying. Memories of those fearful days came flooding back and Jason became visibly upset.

"Awww baby . . ." Tommy said, not sure how to comfort him. He wrapped him in a tight embrace and stroked his hair. "Don't dwell on bad memories—we'll make some new, good ones, okay?"

"Yeah . . . yeah, we will," Jason answered, but the flashback had shaken him. He held onto Tommy tightly and nuzzled his neck.

"God, I'm so glad you're okay. If you hadn't made it, it would have killed me," he said and took a ragged breath.

"Shhh . . . it's okay. I'm fine, baby. Please don't be upset." He tried his best to console Jason. They shared a tender kiss. "Everything's gonna be okay now."

__________

The following few days went by uneventfully. Tommy felt like a prisoner in his own home. Mom had put her foot down that he was not to leave the house, nor could his friends hang out there for hours on end.

"You need your rest—you have to go back to school next week and you need to get your strength back," she had told him.

So he basically slept, ate, and watched TV or listened to music—lather, rinse, repeat. He was thoroughly bored. The gang would come over after school, but too quickly Mrs. Oliver would hint around that they needed to leave, so there he was. He and Jason had almost no time alone at all and it was getting to them.

The one thing Tommy was looking forward to was having dinner at the Scott's house later that week. Theresa Scott had convinced Tommy's mom that it would be good for him and that she would make sure he didn't overdo. Tommy couldn't wait to taste Mrs. Scott's cooking. His mouth started watering just thinking about it.

___________

(Later that same week)

"Mom?" Jason called into the kitchen. "I'm going to pick up Tommy. How long 'til dinner?"

"Give me about an hour and a half, okay? I still have to finish the dessert!" Mrs. Scott called back to her son.

"Gotcha. Need me to pick up anything on the way back?"

"Not that I can think of. I'll call you on your cell if I think of anything."

The Scotts had invited Tommy over for a big "Welcome Home/Glad you're okay" meal filled with all of his favourites from "Mom's" kitchen—pot roast with new potatoes and carrots, English peas with pearl onions in butter sauce, homemade bread, other assorted vegetable dishes, and to finish off—Black Forest Cake.

Jason warned his mom that Tommy's stomach was still healing, so he may not be able to eat all that much. She had been cooking and baking all day and the smells coming from that kitchen made your mouth water and your stomach growl. Jason couldn't wait to get Tommy over there! The food at the Oliver's was okay—adequate—but because Mr. and Mrs. Oliver were both professionals, domestic stuff usually took a back seat.

But at the Scott's, Mrs. Theresa Carlino Scott, with her Italian heritage fully intact, could cook like nobody's business! Jason _had_ to work out constantly or he'd be the size of a small house!

____________

Tommy was primping in the mirror when the doorbell rang. He heard his mom say, "Since when do you ring the bell, Mr. Scott?" He stepped shirtless out of the bathroom and looked over the banister.

"Hey bro, come on up."

Jason took the steps two at a time and stood leaning on the rail just outside the door watching Tommy. He looked great—definitely getting back to his old self quickly . . . pretty much. As he pulled his hair back into a ponytail, Jason was watching every move closely. When Tommy lifted his arms, you could still count his ribs. His jeans were nearly a size or so too big now, so they sat low on his hips allowing the top of his hipbones to protrude.

'_Damn, he's skinny. Gotta do something about that.'_ But he wouldn't dare say anything to hurt Tommy's feelings. Tommy caught him looking and made some crack about a walking skeleton.

Jason would have none of it. "Oh come on, you look great. You'll gain those few pounds back in no time—starting tonight! Mom's been at it all day!"

Tommy licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. "That's what I wanted to hear! I can't wait!"

Jason heard music coming from Tommy's room—sounded like Skid Row. They walked into the bedroom together and Tommy closed the door . . . and locked it without alerting his bro. Jason was looking at a stack of DVDs on the desk when he felt warm arms slip around his waist and then felt moist lips on his neck. A tingle travelled through his body in record time and he shivered.

"I've missed you," Tommy breathed into Jason's ear.

"You just saw me yesterday," Jason whispered.

"Yeah, I know—24 whole hours."

A big smile crossed Jason's face and he laid his head back onto Tommy and closed his eyes, his hands resting on top of the chair back. Those caressing hands found their way underneath Jason's shirt and started running up and down his chest. That was rewarded with one of those deep, Jason moans. Encouragement accepted, his bro ran his fingertips under the waistband of Jason's jeans. He wanted to get his hands on Tommy so bad, but he wasn't about to do anything to interrupt him now. Besides, he wanted to see exactly what 'his dragon' would do.

He didn't have long to wait. While kissing his neck and nibbling on his ears, those long, thin fingers scratched lightly at his skin—almost tickling. His nails grazed Jason's nipples, making him moan again.

"You like that, huh?" he whispered into Jason's ear.

The feeling of Tommy's hot breath in his ear made him shiver again. "Mmmm . . ." he groaned in response and grasped the chair harder to support himself. He could feel Tommy's body pressed up against his own. He sincerely wished all that fabric wasn't in the way.

"I'll take that . . . as a 'yes'," he replied while biting at the back of Jason's neck. Then he did something that his bro did _not_ see coming. His wandering hands travelled low again and took hold of the button on Jason's jeans and paused for a minute--then he pulled until it popped open. Gasping slightly, Jason tried to be still but couldn't resist grabbing Tommy's thighs that were positioned up against the back of his own.

Fingers moved a little further south, grasping a little and pulling themselves downward. The zipper came open by itself as the exploring fingers travelled lower. The waistband of Jason's boxers was bypassed and Tommy pressed his fingers into his love's skin and drew in a deep, audibly sexy breath.

'_He's . . . definitely . . . _not_ shy!'_

Jason was groping at every bit of his torturer that he could reach. He grasped Tommy's tight ass in his large hands. He shifted sideways a little and turned his face back toward that wonderful mouth. Tommy captured his lips in his own and sucked lightly.

'_Where did he learn to kiss?! Someone taught him well! And I know it wasn't Kim.'_

Jason was counting himself lucky and enjoying the talent of the man he was intertwined with. Tommy's hands moved a little lower—Jason's body trembled a bit in anticipation—this was too good to be true . . .

It was.

"Tommy?" called his mom through the door as she knocked. "I've got that shirt you wanted from the dryer."

Tommy quickly withdrew his hands and cleared his throat. "Okay Mom," he said shakily. "Thank you."

Jason collected and redressed himself as his bro went to open the door. He faced away from the doorway, lest the evidence give them away. He glanced at his watch—they needed to leave in a few minutes.

"Tommy, we need to get going pretty soon," he said, as much for Mom as for her son.

"Yeah, I know. I'll be ready in just a minute," Tommy replied and smiled at his still-hovering mother. She turned and left the room and Tommy shot a 'Whew!' look at Jason. They both broke into a big grin.

Tommy reached over and closed the door again, but didn't lock it this time. He said, loudly enough for anyone who might have been listening, "Oh, here's that t-shirt you let me borrow a few days ago. Nice and clean."

He walked over and stood with his body up against Jason's, leaned in and kissed him gently.

"You can keep the shirt and wear it if you want," his bro said in a whisper.

"Nah, it doesn't smell like you anymore," he whispered back, gazing into the midnight depths of Jason's eyes.

That simple phrase attached itself to his heart. Sure, he had had girlfriends who wanted to wear something of his because it smelled like his cologne or whatever, but . . . to have Tommy say that just melted his heart. He smiled warmly and chuckled a bit.

"I'll get you one that does, okay?"

"Okay. By the way, was that a good start on those new memories?" Tommy asked.

Jason suddenly figured out what he was talking about.

"Absolutely! The more memories like that the better!" They smiled at each other and decided that they really had better get going.

__________

They walked in the door right on time, amazingly enough. The fabulous smells of Mrs. Scott's cooking assaulted Tommy's nose as soon as he walked in the house.

"Awww man . . . I'm starving! That smells so good!" He walked into the kitchen and Theresa Scott's face lit up.

"Tommy! It's so good to see you under this roof again! Let me look at you!" She stepped back a little and eyed him up and down. She, of course, noticed how thin he was, but was all compliments.

"You look really good, Sweetie! We were so worried about you, you know."

Tommy hated the idea that he had caused so much anguish for his friends. "Yeah, I know. Thank you for everything." He hugged her tight and even kissed her cheek.

"My my, aren't you a doll," she said smiling. "Hope you're hungry. I've been cooking all day!"

Tommy clutched his stomach. "I'm starving, Mom!"

_______________

They all sat down together at the dinner table and Mom said grace. Stephen and Jason Scott ate like a chain gang on a day pass—Tommy did the best he could manage. Theresa sat back and smiled, graciously accepting the compliments from her husband and her two favourite boys in the world.

"I do love a man with a healthy appetite," she said, laughing.

Over dessert, Mr. Scott brought up the subject of Tommy's accident. "So, the doctors are fairly sure that you'll have no lasting effects from your injuries?"

"Yes sir, as far as they know right now. I have to have checkups once a month for a while, though," he replied.

Jason playfully punched Tommy's arm. "He's good as new . . . well, almost. But if he hangs around here very long . . ." he said patting his own tummy ". . . he'll gain that weight back in no time flat!"

Tommy laughed and agreed.

When everyone was so stuffed they could hardly move and the dishes had been taken to the kitchen, Jason decided it was way past time for his best friend to see his new digs. Stephen had remodelled Jason's room for him while he was away in Switzerland. He had extended it out over the garage and put in a small bathroom. It was roughly 3 times the size it used to be.

"I'm going to show Tommy what a great do-it-yourselfer my dad is—he hasn't seen my new room," he announced, grabbing his bro by the arm. "Wait till you see it, it's so cool!"

Mr. and Mrs. Scott looked at each other and smiled—things were finally starting to get back to normal.

Jason followed Tommy up the steps—he thought it might be a good idea—you know, just in case. But Tommy handled all those stairs fine, much to Jason's relief. At the top, he went ahead of his bro and stopped at his door.

"Are you ready for this?" he smiled widely. Tommy nodded his head and looked anxious.

"Check this out," he said, opening the door with a flourish and ushering Tommy inside.

Tommy stood with his mouth open—it was the size of a small apartment! All it needed was a kitchen. He looked around at the cases full of trophies, the entertainment center, the workout space . . . it was incredible.

"I am so jealous!" he said finally, smiling. He saw all the pictures of their friends interspersed around the room. The one of he, Kim, and Jason caught his eye. "I remember when that was taken," he said.

Jason thought he saw a momentary flash of pain cross Tommy's face, but it was so fast that he quickly dismissed it.

"Don't be jealous, bro. You can spend as much time here as you want, you know that," he said warmly, giving his love an open invitation.

Tommy continued to look around the room. He closely examined the Japanese screen that divided the room. It had several depictions of dragons in all different colors.

"This is beautiful! Where did it come from?"

"My aunt sent it to Mom from Tokyo about six months ago, I think. It _is_ cool, huh?" he said as he traced some of the calligraphy with his finger.

"Yeah, very nice!"

"We can hang out here as much as you like—watch movies, listen to music . . . workout." The mischievous grin that accompanied the word 'workout' told Tommy that Jason probably didn't mean lifting weights.

"Sounds great. I could use a good 'workout'," he raised his eyebrows and they both laughed.

Jason turned on some music while Tommy continued around the room, looking closely at all of the pictures. He especially liked the fact that there were so many with him in them and most of those were massed near Jason's bed. Tommy sat on the edge of the big, soft bed.

"Been fantasizing about me in bed?" he asked grinning, hoping he was right.

"Mmm . . . maybe," Jason said, trying to sound evasive.

All at once, Tommy stopped smiling and looked very serious. "Jase . . . can I ask you something?"

"Anything, bro."

"Are things between us moving too fast for you? I mean, am I freaking you out or anything?" the red ranger asked, a worried look on his face.

Jason gave him a confused look. "No, why? Did I give you that impression somehow?" He came over and sat next to Tommy on the bed. He put a hand on one of his thighs.

"No, you didn't. It's just that I know I've been kinda forward with you. I just couldn't help myself . . . but I would never want to do anything to make you uncomfortable, ya know?"

Jason nodded. He had been worried about scaring Tommy off at first. That had, obviously, not been a problem.

"I know what you're saying, but believe me . . . I've enjoyed every second of it! You haven't done anything wrong," Jason tried to reassure him.

Tommy gave him a half smile. "Promise you'll tell me if I ever do, okay?"

"I promise," Jason replied. He looked closely at Tommy to gauge his anxiety. He looked more at ease now, like Jason's few words had settled his mind.

"I will say this, though," he gave a wicked grin. "You have surprised me a little."

'_A whole lot, if the truth be known.'_

"I have?"

'_How should I take that?'_

"Yeah, and here I was thinking you were all shy and reserved. I was really concerned about scaring you off—at first. No need to worry, apparently."

Tommy blushed. "Like I said, I just couldn't help myself . . . you're just so . . .Mmmm." He bit his lower lip.

Jason grinned at him and then laughed. He gave him a quick kiss. "Mmmm. You are too . . . my dragon." He winked at him.

"Dragon? Me?" Tommy tried on his innocent face—it didn't fit very well.

"Yes, you! Who nearly had whose jeans off barely 2 hours ago?! Not that I don't want an instant replay, but you, bro, were the instigator there! Not me!" Jason had him dead to rights and he knew it.

"Okay, okay . . . but seriously. I've been surprising myself, too. Lately, I've had to be much more reserved . . . but with you it's different."

Jason knew he was the only man Tommy had ever kissed or touched like that. _'Is that why?'_

"Because I'm a guy, you mean?" he asked.

"No . . . well, yes . . . and no." He sighed. "I'm not making much sense, I know. See . . . I was always reserved with Kim because that's how she is. I couldn't come on too strong with her—I'd have scared her off. And I loved Kim, you know that. So all my friends here think I'm this shy little innocent thing. I'm not."

'_Really?'_ Jason thought.

"My previous girlfriend, before we moved to Angel Grove, wasn't quite like Kim." He stopped.

'_What does that mean? Come on bro, don't stop now!'_

"Meaning what?" Jason had to ask.

"Well, she wasn't shy and inexperienced like Kim. She was a couple of years older than me . . . she taught me a lot." Tommy realized what he had just admitted.

"Can I ask you something, then?"

"Sure, bro," Tommy said a bit apprehensively.

"Umm . . . I don't remember when we had this conversation, but somewhere along the line, we said that we were both virgins . . ." He didn't even have to ask the question. Jason watched Tommy lower his head and he had his answer. "Tommy?"

He wouldn't look at him.

"Tommy, tell me the truth." Jason's voice had an edge to it. He knew now that Tommy had lied to him, but he wanted an explanation. He reached over and tried to lift Tommy's chin, but his bro pulled away from him and abruptly stood and walked away. Jason just watched him for a minute. Finally, he stood and walked over to his best friend and turned him around. Tommy was obviously upset.

"Talk to me, bro."

Tommy looked into Jason's eyes and sighed. "Jase, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lie to you, but . . . at the time I didn't know you guys very well. You were very open and told me that you were a virgin. It seemed that all of our friends were too. It made me feel . . . I don't know . . . dirty. I was trying to build a new life here and distance myself from my old one, so I just wanted to fit in, ya know?"

Jason nodded. He did understand. Tommy drew a deep breath and continued.

"Not to mention the fact that Kim and I had become attracted to each other and I knew you thought of her as your little sister. I didn't think you would want her to have anything to do with me if you knew. I'm sorry."

Jason did not like being lied to, but he knew that Tommy was normally very honest.

"I see what you're saying Tommy, but I don't think it would have made a difference to me if I'd known the truth. Maybe about you and Kim—I probably would have had that big brother talk with you—but about you fitting in with us—I don't think it would have changed anything."

"Maybe, maybe not—I didn't want to take the chance. I was tired of being alone."

Jason led Tommy back over to the bed to sit beside him and placed a comforting hand on his leg. "You mentioned distancing yourself from your life before you moved here—what did you mean exactly?"

Tommy closed his eyes and exhaled. "Jason, I really don't want to go into that—not now. I'll tell you one of these days, I promise."

"Anything I should know? I mean, in light of our new relationship?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to pry or make you mad, but if we're going to . . . be together, I need you to be honest with me."

"I _am_ honest with you, Jase. I explained that one little lie I told you when we first met."

"What I mean is, is there anything in your past that could come back to cause us problems?" Jason was being sincere and trying to tread lightly, but Tommy was getting insulted. His body stiffened and the tone of his voice changed.

"Look Jason—I don't have and have never had an STD, I've never been arrested, I don't have any illegitimate children, and I'm not a drug addict or alcoholic! Anything else?!"

Jason was trying to be understanding, but he didn't like having his head bit off. "Did I insinuate any of that?"

"No, but you act like I'm suddenly keeping secrets from you."

"I'm not acting like anything. You're the one who said you had a past that you were trying to distance yourself from."

Tommy stopped and thought—maybe he had phrased that wrong. After a few moments of silence, Tommy spoke. His voice had returned to its normal, soft tone.

"Bro, I'm sorry. I guess that did sound ominous—I didn't mean it that way. I just have some less-than-pleasant memories that I'm not up to reliving right now. When I get back to my old self, I'll tell you—I promise. But it's nothing that could affect you or 'us', okay?" He reached up and stroked Jason's hair and tried to smile.

"Okay, fair enough." Jason smiled a bit and leaned into Tommy. They shared a couple of small, quick kisses.

"So, does my not being a virgin really bother you?"

Jason thought about that. "Ummm, well . . . it _does_ put me at a disadvantage."

"No it doesn't. I've never been with a guy before you. As a matter of fact, since you've had a boyfriend before,_ I'm_ the one at a disadvantage."

"Maybe for the time being, but once we get down and dirty, you'll have the upper hand."

Tommy had to grin. "Down and dirty, huh? Is that what you have planned for me?" His mood was returning to where it had been before the conversation turned so serious.

Jason gave him a provocative look. "Absolutely! Eventually anyway. We have to work up to that." He ran his fingers through his boyfriend's hair.

"Well, from my limited experience, I can tell you something: When you get to that point, instinct will take over. You don't do a lot of thinking . . ." Tommy shot him a mischievous grin.

'_Maybe this isn't such a bad thing,'_ Jason thought.

"So, you've only been with girls so far. No guys before me?"

"No. Absolutely not. I told you that, Jase," Tommy replied. "And I'll tell you something else. I have never had feelings for anyone like I have for you—guy or girl. Not even Kim. Yes, I loved her—or I think I did—I don't know anymore. I thought I knew what love was . . ."

"I feel the same way, bro. I guess it's because we've been such good friends for a while now. We know each other pretty well," Jason said.

'_I thought I knew everything about him. Guess not.'_

"No, I don't think that's it," Tommy protested. "This might sound a little silly, but . . . I think we were destined to be together." He put his arm around Jason's waist.

Jason smiled at him. "That's not silly. As a matter of fact, I completely agree. It's good to know you feel the same!"

"So I think that's why I've broken out of my reserved shell with you. It's like I've been waiting a long time for you and now that I have you . . . I can't get enough!" Tommy leaned over and kissed Jason's mouth. They lingered for a while, not wanting to part.

"And we've only just started . . . here's to never getting enough!" Jason exclaimed with a huge smile and bright eyes.

They kissed again and fell back onto the bed. After a minute or so, Jason got up, walked over to the door, and locked it. "Don't want to give the folks a heart attack!" he said, laughing.

Walking back over, he decided that _he_ would be the aggressor this time. "Tommy," he said quietly in his deepest, sexiest voice.

"Hmm?" his bro answered, propping himself up on an elbow.

Jason slowly pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside carelessly—he put one knee on the bed and positioned himself from the waist up over Tommy—his mouth enveloped the red ranger's full lips and he pushed him back, kissing him hard.

'_Now who's the dragon?'_ Tommy thought.

Jason only broke contact with Tommy's wet mouth long enough to help him lose his shirt, then he attacked that soft mouth again, exploring it in detail with his tongue. Both men moaned with pleasure, their bare chests rubbing against each other. Jason was sure to be careful of Tommy's still-healing, tender ribs, while still maintaining contact. He slid his hand all the way down to his bro's waist. There he grasped the button of Tommy's jeans and pulled it open. His fingers ran a little ways under the waistband and followed it around to his back. His skin was smooth and warm under Jason's fingers.

He began kissing Tommy's chest and shoulders, navigating around the brace on Tommy's lower ribs like it wasn't even there. Moving downward until he reached his stomach, he could feel the muscles tremble when he kissed it. He looked up at his bro and discovered that he was watching every move. Mischievously, Jason grinned and licked Tommy's flat stomach and started back up his chest, licking and kissing his way along.

Tommy was breathing harder now. He grasped at Jason's shoulders and neck. He ran his fingers through the dark, thick hair. Both of them still felt nervous and a little strange about these new experiences and emotions, but they weren't about to let a case of the nerves get in the way.

Jason recalled a mental note he had made and gave Tommy's right nipple a quick little lick. It had the desired effect—Tommy gasped and tightened his grip on Jason's shoulder. He licked the left nipple and then started to suck gently. Tommy laid his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a sexy groan—he had him now. Jason alternated from one side to the other, getting his dragon all worked up.

While Jason was suspended above him, Tommy had managed to get his hands on his bro's jeans and had them unbuttoned and unzipped before he knew what was happening. Now he had both hands underneath them and was massaging and grabbing at Jason's muscular backside.

His mouth still connected to Tommy's chest, Jason groaned deeply and his bro felt the vibrations all through his upper body. He drew one hand out and grasped Jason's hand in his own. Then he placed their hands on his stomach and slid them downward. Jason felt the burgeoning bulge through the jeans and he broke into a villainous grin as he met his bro's eyes. Tommy removed his own hand and left Jason's to do as he wished. In a gesture of surrender, he laid both arms back near his head and gazed into Jason's eyes, his mouth slightly open.

'_Mmmm . . . he's being submissive. I like this!'_

Jason gently rubbed and squeezed until he just couldn't wait anymore. He unbuttoned and unzipped Tommy's jeans and slid his hand inside to feel his heated skin. Tommy drew in a sharp breath and felt himself trembling under Jason's caress.

Truth be known, both of them were still a little frightened, but neither had any intention of stopping . . . yet. They knew there was only so far they could go here in Jason's house with his parents downstairs anyway.

Jason captured Tommy's mouth in his and their tongues caressed while he continued to gently rub and stroke down below. Tommy moaned into Jason's mouth. Jason only kissed him harder. Shortly afterward, the still-weakened red ranger, breathing hard, had to come up for air. This visibly annoyed him.

"Damn it! How long will it take for me to get my strength back?!" He laid there almost panting with Jason stroking his long, beautiful hair.

"Not much longer love, I'm sure. Try to be patient," he said warmly.

"I'll try. Sorry babe," Tommy said apologetically.

"It's okay. We got lots of time." He smiled and kissed him gently.

They stayed there for quite a while, just enjoying the feeling of lying together. It was a lot different now than it used to be when they would stay over at each other's houses. They continued kissing and caressing each other's upper bodies while they talked about all sorts of things.

At about 9 pm, Jason's mom came to the door and reminded him that tomorrow they had to leave early to go to a family reunion.

"Well, I guess we better go. You're still coming back to school Monday, right?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, as long as I feel like it. I don't think it'll be a problem," Tommy answered. He was excited about it, too. He was so tired of sitting around—either in a hospital bed or at home.

"Excellent! I've really missed having classes with you."

Tommy grinned at him. "It'll be nice to have you there again. Don't know if I'll be able to concentrate though with you sitting near me. How long are you going to be gone to this 'family thing'?"

Jason groaned. "All weekend. It's about 200 miles away."

Tommy grimaced. "Ugh, you poor thing. I'll miss you, though."

"Yeah, same here. We'll have to get all reacquainted when I get back!" he said grinning madly.

"Sounds promising . . ."

_______________________

_Author's Notes: Well, Tommy is finally getting back to his normal (?) life—as if the life of a ranger could ever be 'normal'. Next chapter, he finally goes back to school, gets to rejoin the team (with a little help from Zordon), and we learn a little more about his less-than-perfect home life. Please keep the reviews coming!! It's really easy . . . _


	15. First Day Back

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Thank you so much to all my regular reviewers! I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, safe, and blessed 2009. May we all make the most of it!

**Chapter 15—First Day Back**

"Now I've talked to your assistant principal and told her that you may need some extra help and that they should call me if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, okay? Don't overdo it, please?" Margaret Oliver said to Tommy in the kitchen on Monday morning.

'_Oh no—she's in a mothering mood.'_

"Mom, I'll be fine. Jason, Adam, Rocky, and Zack are all looking out for me. They're gonna be like mother hens, I'm sure."

'_I'll be lucky if they don't try to feed me at lunch!'_

"I'm good—really." He sincerely wished his mom wouldn't make such a big deal out of things, although it was nice that she was acting like she cared.

There was a knock at the door.

'_Jase?!'_ Tommy was anxious to see him—it had been two days since he had laid eyes on him because of that reunion out of town. They _had_ managed a couple of cell phone calls, though.

"Mom, that's Jase—I gotta go! I'll check in later, okay?"

"Be sure you do. I have to know where you are."

He kissed her on the cheek and almost ran to the door.

Tommy went out the front door and caught sight of Jason standing on the front porch. His mouth fell open a bit. The object of his affection was standing against a post with his arms folded wearing a black turtleneck, black leather jacket, and jeans. He looked like something out of a magazine—absolutely gorgeous.

"Hey bro! You look . . . edible this morning!" Tommy said and gave him a quick hug. Mom might be watching so they left it at that for the moment.

Jason smiled. "Hey yourself. Ready for your first day back?"

"Yep! Let's go!"

_____________

"I really missed you this weekend," Tommy said, putting a hand on Jason's thigh. "How was the 'family thing'?" He grinned widely—he knew Jason really didn't care for reunions; he only went to appease his parents.

"Oh you know, the usual scene: screaming kids everywhere, people I only see every couple of years so I can't remember their names, well-meaning but annoying aunts trying to fix me up with 'this nice girl' they know because I'm too good-looking to be single—I'm still in high school for crissakes—cousins our age coming on to me, and more food than should be allowed by law! The usual." He sighed.

Tommy was more than a little amused—he was imaging the scene: Jason standing in the middle of a bunch of girls and older aunts, pulling his hair out.

"Take me with you next time and introduce me as your boyfriend—I guarantee they'll leave you alone after that!" They both laughed.

'_Not a bad idea . . .'_ Jason thought.

"Oh, sorry. I really missed you too." He smiled and patted the hand on his thigh.

Tommy squeezed a bit—he wanted to kiss him so bad he could taste it, but where could they steal a few minutes alone? Unlike 'normal' couples, they couldn't just kiss at a traffic light or in the parking lot at school. Well, they _could_ . . . but no. They weren't ready for that yet.

Jason felt his bro looking at him, so he glanced over his way. "Hmm?" he said with a little grin.

"Just lookin'," came the reply with a wink. "That leather jacket looks like it was made just for you."

Jason gave the usual reply, but his eyes lit up. "What? This old thing?"

Tommy had always loved to see him smile like that, but especially now. He moved his hand a little higher on his thigh. They were getting close to the school and it was only 7:20, so Tommy suggested a little detour.

"You wouldn't happen to know somewhere where we could be alone for a few minutes, would you?"

"Hmmm . . . let me think," Jason replied while waiting for the light to change. After pondering that for a minute, he said, "Well, the strip mall near the school is deserted this early in the morning. I could drive around the back."

"Sounds good," Tommy replied.

They did just that and as soon as Jason had pushed the gear shift into park, the two new lovers had their hands all over each other, kissing like they had been held apart for months. They finally came up for air after a few minutes.

"Mmm . . . you taste good," Jason said and licked his lips to emphasize the point.

Tommy grinned back at him. "So do you. Did I mention how much I missed you?!"

"Yeah you did, but I don't think I'd ever get tired of hearing it," Jason replied.

Their mouths came together again and hands found bare skin to caress. They were really starting to fog up the windows on the Mustang. When a car made a shortcut through the parking lot, it startled them apart and Jason glanced at the clock in the dashboard.

Sigh. "We need to get going, bro."

"Yeah, I guess so—but it was nice while it lasted anyway," Tommy responded.

"After school—we'll pick up where we left off, okay?"

"You got it."

They exchanged another quick kiss and then headed on to school.

_________

Jason and Tommy walked down the hallway toward their lockers like they had done a hundred times before, but the trip wasn't mundane for Tommy. He had been looking forward to this for days.

"Hey Tommy!"

"Good to see you back, Tommy!"

"How's it goin', man?"

"Tommy! We've missed you!"

The greetings came from all sides. Apparently, lots of people were happy to see the tall brunette back.

He smiled, a bit embarrassed. "That's nice of them," he said quietly to Jason who nodded in agreement.

Jason was very happy to see his best friend smiling and feeling comfortable. He had been worried, although he would never have said anything to Tommy. You never know how people will react and what they'll say—especially high school kids. Tommy looked wonderful to Jason and his friends because he did appear much better than he had while he was in the coma. But, truth be known, he did still look tired, pale, and pretty thin. Anyone who hadn't seen him since he was hurt would notice the difference immediately. But no one seemed to be staring or whispering, so Jason was relieved.

They went to their lockers, spoke to Adam and Rocky who came running over, all smiles, and then headed off to Mrs. Parazzo's History class. As soon as they walked in the door, the attractive, dark-haired teacher jumped up from her desk and wrapped Tommy in a big hug.

"Tommy! Welcome back, dear! I'm so glad to see you looking so well!"

"Thank you, Mrs. P. Believe me, I'm very glad to be back!" Tommy responded, a big smile on his face.

"I'll be keeping an eye on you, so if you need anything during class, just let me know, okay?" the teacher told him in a low voice.

Tommy was a little embarrassed by all this extra attention—he really wished things were back to normal, but . . . their hearts were in the right place, so he accepted his fate and just went with it.

"Thank you ma'am, I'll remember that. But I'm sure I'll be fine," he replied with a smile and turned to take his seat.

Jason glanced over at him and grinned—it was so great to see him sitting there. The world was finally turning right side up again.

The class went by pretty quickly for Tommy—partially because he had missed so much that he was completely lost, but also because he was thinking about how nice it was to finally be getting back to the old routine. Never again would he take such things for granted.

The bell rang and everyone jumped up to leave.

"Tommy, Jason—can I see you both for a moment?" Mrs. Parazzo asked.

"Sure," Jason said as he walked toward her desk. Tommy followed.

"Now I know you've missed quite a lot of material while you were out, and Jason—we're still trying to line up what you were studying in Switzerland with what we're doing here—but I'm going to try my best to get you both caught up. I really want you to be able to graduate in the Spring with everyone else."

She thought about how tough it had been for Michael to get back up to speed after his accident. Because of his lingering injuries, in particular dealing with post-concussion syndrome, he wasn't able to catch up and had to stay in high school for an extra semester. It really bothered him—all of his friends were gone and he had to start college late. She didn't want to see that happen to two of her favourite students. She looked between Jason and Tommy.

"Both of you are behind and I've worked out a schedule of sorts to help. Now Tommy, I know you may not always feel like doing this, but please try. I've tried to make it as painless as possible."

She handed the two boys a revised syllabus of sorts that would hit the highlights and give them the information they needed to pass the tests. She had put a lot of work into it, that was obvious. They hoped their other teachers would be so understanding and helpful.

'_Doubt it,'_ thought Jason about Trig.

"Also, I'll help you both choose easy topics for your final presentations. That's 20% of your grade right there, so if you can do well on that and the exam, you should be okay."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. P," Tommy said sincerely. "I promise I'll do my best."

"Me too. Thank you," Jason added.

"That's all I ask, my darlings. Now you better get to your next class," Mrs. Parazzo said and then she added, "Let me know if you need a note."

They walked out into the hallway looking at the papers.

"Well . . . it doesn't look too bad, I guess," Tommy estimated.

"No, not too bad," said Jason, thumbing through it. "I just wish all of our teachers were that considerate."

"No kidding," smirked his bro. "Okay, so I'm off to chemistry. See you in Mrs. Applebee's class."

"Gotcha." He stepped closer to Tommy and pointing to the communicator on his wrist said, "If you need me . . ."

Tommy nodded that he understood. He looked down at the one on his wrist that Adam had brought to him a few days ago. "See ya in a few."

2nd block Chemistry was the only class that Tommy had that didn't contain any of his good friends. It seemed he was the only one of his friends that enjoyed science. Except Billy, of course, but he had graduated early.

He walked into class and took his accustomed seat. The red ranger had no sooner put his backpack down when a very pretty brunette with big, brown eyes stepped up to him.

"Umm . . . that's my seat. Are you in this class? I haven't seen you in here before," she said, smiling.

Tommy looked up, confused. "Uh, this_ is_ Dr. Pack's class, right?" He wouldn't put it past himself to walk into the wrong classroom.

"Yeah, it is." She tucked her long hair behind her ear. "My name is Alicia, Alicia Kingston. I just moved here a couple of weeks ago."

Tommy noticed a distinct southern accent—it was charming. "Well that explains it. My name is Tommy, nice to meet you. I've been out sick for about 3 weeks, so we haven't met before now."

"Oh? _You're_ Tommy? I've heard so much about you. They said they weren't sure you were coming back—are you okay now?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. I'll be okay. I'm not quite there yet, but it shouldn't be much longer," Tommy informed her.

"Well that's good to hear! You must have been pretty sick!"

"Mmm . . . yeah. Pretty sick," he nodded. He didn't feel the need to elaborate.

Dr. Pack walked in and stood at the front of the lab. "Take your seats everyone, please. Ah, Mr. Oliver . . . glad to see you back. Hmm, that displaces you, doesn't it Miss Kingston?" He walked over to the long table. "Can we squeeze you in here?" indicating the space between Tommy and Matt, who had been lab partners since the beginning of the semester.

Both boys scooted their stools apart to make room for the pretty newcomer.

"Think you three can work together?" the instructor asked.

"Yeah, not a problem, Dr. Pack," Tommy answered quickly.

Matt smiled at him and raised his eyebrows. Alicia sat down between the two of them and looked from one to the other.

"Lucky me!"

The two girls directly across the table rolled their eyes at her and then smiled at Tommy. He smiled back and started to say something to them, but class started. It would have to wait.

When Chemistry was over, Tommy started down the hall toward Mrs. Applebee's English class. He heard a sweet voice coming from behind him.

"Tommy! Tommy, wait up!" It was Alicia. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. "I just wanted to thank you for your help with that experiment. I was completely lost."

He gave her a nice smile. "You're welcome, Alicia. I'm just glad I remembered enough to do that one."

"Oh, you're very smart. I can tell. What class do you have next?"

Tommy had noticed Tanya and Kat walking up behind Alicia. They were grinning at him and fluttering their eyelashes, mocking Alicia. Tommy tried not to laugh.

"I've got English next. What about you?"

"Psychology. See you at lunch?" she asked. It was obvious that this attractive brunette was hot for the red ranger. She wasn't the only one.

"Uh, yeah. I'll see you then," he said sweetly.

After Alicia left, Tanya and Kat gave their leader the business.

"Oh Tommy, you're so smart!" Tanya said in a mock southern accent.

Kat grabbed his arm and rubbed it. "Ooooh, your arms are so big! You must workout!" she fluttered her lashes at him. The girls had a good laugh.

"Come on now, stop. I think she's sweet," Tommy said in Alicia's defence.

Kat scoffed. "Of course you do. She's got you snowed. Guys . . ." she rolled her eyes.

Tommy raised his eyebrows. "Sounds like somebody's jealous. I've gotta get to English—see you at lunch." He gave them a wink and hurried off.

Turning the corner onto the front hallway, he caught sight of Jason leaning against the lockers, waiting for him.

"Hey there. How was chemistry?"

"Okay. How 'bout Psychology?"

"Ehh . . . kinda boring. How're you feeling?" He looked concerned.

"I'm fine, actually. Just a little hungry," Tommy said, rubbing his stomach.

"Oh, I can fix that. Come on," he said quickly and walked into class. Tommy stood there for a second, looking confused. He shrugged and followed.

Jason pulled an energy bar out of his backpack and handed it to his bro. "This'll cure the hungries," he said with a grin.

"Cool, thanks!" he took the bar and opened it quickly. One big bite later he said, "I hope Mrs. Applebee doesn't mind."

"Nah, she'll be okay with it . . . since it's you." Jason winked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he mumbled with his mouth full.

"You're one of her favourites, you know that. And besides, she knows what you've been through. Don't worry."

"Look who's back, Skull—it's the long-haired dweeb!" Tommy turned toward the familiar voice. It was Bulk.

'_Here we go . . .'_

"Hey! Tommy! Good to see you, man!" That was Skull.

Bulk walked right up to Tommy in a mock-threatening sorta way. Then he grinned. "Seriously. Glad you're back, man." He shook Tommy's hand and went to his seat.

Tommy was flabbergasted. Bulk and Skull were just nice to him.

'_What the fuck?!'_ He looked at Jason, surprise still on his face. Jason just shrugged. Wonders never cease.

Mrs. Applebee came in and sat her books down and then turned to Tommy. "Tommy! Feeling better, I trust?"

"Yes ma'am. Thank you," he answered.

"Come see me after class, okay?" she requested.

About ten minutes into her lecture, Tommy tried to stealthily take another bite of the energy bar. Nothin' doin'. Bulk's food radar must have gone off. His hand shot up in the air.

"Yes, Bulk?" Mrs. Applebee asked.

"So, it's okay for us to eat in class now, huh?" he asked, shooting a look in Tommy direction. He quickly stashed the food. Jason swung around in his seat and gave Bulk the evil eye.

Mrs. Applebee turned and winked at Tommy. "Well Bulk, not as a rule, no. But as Tommy has been so sick, I think it's fine for him to nibble a little if he needs to. _He_ can use the extra calories, unlike some of us!" the portly, good-natured teacher said.

Most of the class laughed, including Jason. He shot Tommy a 'told ya' look.

__________

Lunch finally came and not a moment too soon for Tommy and Jason. They were both hungry, despite the snack in English class. Not to mention that they wanted to just sit and talk to their friends for a little while.

They went through the doors of the lunchroom and got in line. The rest of the gang would be along soon. After standing there for a little while, Jason noticed that Tommy was having to lean against the wall quite a bit.

He gave him a worried look. "You okay, bro?"

"Umm, yeah. I just feel tired all of a sudden," Tommy said.

"Go sit down. I'll get your lunch for you," Jason replied and turned Tommy toward the group's usual table. "Go."

Tommy knew an order when he heard one and he obeyed. He was really too tired to protest anyway. As he was waiting on Jason and the others, a now-familiar voice rang in his ear.

"Hi again! How was English?" It was Alicia again. Tommy didn't care what Kat and Tanya had said, he still thought she was sweet . . . and pretty.

"Oh, the usual. How 'bout Psychology?"

"Interesting, actually. We're studying the effects of various drugs on perception."

"Hmmm . . . sounds like a blast. Have a seat," he said, motioning toward the chair.

She looked delighted. She sat next to Tommy and put her backpack down under the table.

"So tell me, what do you do for fun around here? I haven't gotten out much since we moved."

"Well, there's the Youth Center near here. My friends and I usually hang out there after school. Most of us are into martial arts and we practice, spar, and sometimes teach there."

"Really? What form do you practice? I just started karate about a year ago."

"Me? Oh, a little of everything: karate, judo, jiu-jitsu . . . you name it."

"Cool. I thought you looked like an athlete. What belt are you?"

"In karate I'm a black belt. I've been training since I was pretty young."

"Oh? What degree are you?"

"Fourth, at the moment."

Her jaw dropped a bit. "4th degree?! Wow! Would you have time to train me some time?"

Tommy smiled at her warmly. "Sure. As soon as I get back in shape and get caught up on all this god-forsaken homework!" He nudged his backpack and gave her a grin.

Jason was watching the scene from the lunch line. _'Who is that? Do I know her? Wonder what she wants with Tommy?'_

Jason suddenly realized something: He was jealous. This pretty girl was talking to his man and he was jealous.

'_That's ridiculous. Why should that bother me? I knew that the stuff between Kat and Tommy was going to bother me a little, but he assured me that he's really not interested in her. I'm being silly.'_

"The rest of my friends should be here soon, you can meet them," Tommy told Alicia. He spied Adam and Rocky in line and waved to them. They returned the wave and he pointed them out to her. "That's Adam with the black hair and the other one is his best friend Rocky."

"Nice. Very cute," she grinned.

Tommy laughed. "You think so?"

"Yeah, of course."

He then saw Jason walking toward the table with two bag lunches; a big smile crossed his face. "And this," he made a grand gesture with his arm, "is _my_ best friend, Jason."

Alicia looked up and her eyes opened wider. "Mmm . . . wow. I mean, Hi! I'm Alicia." She blushed a little and grinned at him.

Jason chuckled and sat the bags down on the table. He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Alicia," he said in his deep, sexy voice.

"She's my new lab partner," Tommy offered.

He sat in the chair on the other side of Tommy and leaned over so he could see them both. "You must be new, I don't think we've met—have we?"

"No, I'm new. We just moved to Angel Grove a couple of weeks ago."

Jason pushed the bag toward Tommy. "Eat."

"Okay, okay. He's such a mother hen . . ."

"You just look tired, that's all, bro," Jason said.

"So Jason, are you an athlete too? You sure look like one," Alicia asked, looking him up and down.

"Yeah, I'm a martial artist mainly, but I also play football and baseball."

"Cool. Black belt, I assume."

"Yeah, me and Tommy both."

'_Unbelievable. The two best looking guys in the school are best friends and I'm sitting here with both of them. And here come a couple more . . .'_

Adam and Rocky pulled up their chairs and introduced themselves. Alicia was surrounded by hotness. They were laughing and talking about the Youth Center when Tanya, Zack, and Kat finally showed up. The girls were less than pleased to see Alicia sitting there like a princess in the middle of all their friends. But they decided to try and be civil.

"Hi guys," came the lilting Aussie accent. She was highly annoyed that the newcomer was sitting next to Tommy—that was her place. "Alicia, isn't it? I'm Katherine and this is Tanya."

"Hi, my name is Zack," he said while shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you all," Alicia said to the new arrivals.

All the guys greeted Tanya, Kat, and Zack and they set to planning Tommy's party.

Adam brought it up first. "So, we're throwing the party this Saturday night, right? At the Youth Center, of course."

Everyone agreed.

"So what exactly is this going to entail? Music, food, decorations, etc.?" Tanya asked.

"Yeah. We need to get Ernie to make a cake for us. We'll all help with the food," Kat added.

"My mom will make lots of Tommy's favourites and I'm sure Rocky's mom will contribute," Jason announced.

Rocky nodded. "Oh yeah, I've already promised Tommy that the famous DeSantos cheesecake will be there and I know Mom will be glad to make some other stuff."

"Good. Sounds like the food thing is mostly covered," Zack said.

Adam leaned over and told Alicia that they were throwing a party for Tommy to celebrate him getting well.

"Alicia, I'd love for you to come if you can," Tommy said.

"Oh, I'd love that. Thank you so much," she replied smiling.

'_Great. I should have guessed that was going to happen,'_ Kat mumbled to herself.

Three or four separate groups of girls walked by the table and spoke to Tommy during lunch. After a while, it became comical to Zack, Adam, and Rocky. Every time another pretty blonde, brunette, or redhead—he had them all—would stop by to say 'Hi' and how glad they were that he was back, they would shoot each other looks and grin. Zack, being Zack, finally had to say something.

"Tommy, dude . . . how many women are in this harem of yours?!" He gave him a mischievous look.

The red ranger turned as red as his shirt. "Shut it, Zack," was all he could manage. Katherine shot Zack a look that was equalled only by the one he received from Jason.

'_Whoa. This is gonna be one helluva battle—Jason vs. Kat for Tommy. Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. My money's on Jase.'_ He had to grin.

Holding his hands up in surrender, he said to the table in general, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I just think it's nice that so many . . . er, people are happy to see Tommy back and looking so well, that's all! Sheesh!"

"Uh huh, Zack. Sure," came from somewhere at the table.

"What?" Zack tried to put on his best innocent face.

Way too soon, lunch was over and Tommy, Jason, Adam, and Rocky headed off to Trig. class.

'_Oh boy, Dr. Takashima—yea.'_

Tommy was _not_ looking forward to this particular class. He wasn't all that bad at math, but this teacher was one of those brilliant people who really didn't need to be teaching high school—college, maybe—but definitely not high school. Plus, he wasn't long on sympathy or patience. Tommy wasn't sure how he was ever going to pass that class.

They walked into the room en masse and sat in their usual seats. Jason noticed the look on Tommy's face—he looked so drained.

"Bro, you okay?" he asked as he put a hand on his shoulder.

Tommy looked over at him. "Umm . . . yeah. I think so. Just getting tired." He propped his head up with his hand.

The other guys also noticed him looking less-than-well. Adam got up and walked over to his desk, squatting beside him. "Tommy, anything I can do? You don't look well."

"No, I'm okay. I'm just a little winded," Tommy replied. Adam didn't look convinced. He looked over at Jason who was closely watching the red ranger.

"What do ya think?" Adam directed at Jason.

"I don't know. You sure you're alright?"

"Yes, mother hen—stop hovering." He smiled so that he wouldn't seem ungrateful.

"Okay, if you're sure," Adam said while standing to resume his seat. As he walked by, though, he gave Jason a concerned look.

"I'll keep an eye on him."

Tommy looked frustrated as well as tired, but he would never want to upset his closest friends just because they were concerned. He decided to keep his mouth shut.

Tommy made it through somehow and was never so happy to hear the final bell ring. It had been an exciting but quite tiring first day back. Now he was ready to hang out with his friends and do a whole lot of nothin'.

Ah, the Youth Center. He had missed that place so much while he was being held prisoner in the hospital. He was finally getting back there today. As they were making their way to Jason's car, he asked, "Tommy, do you feel like going today? We can always go tomorrow if you're too tired."

Tommy replied, "Oh no you don't. I've been waiting for weeks to go back there and you're not going to get me to wait one day longer!" He gave Jason a big smile that he couldn't resist.

"Alright . . . okay," he held his hands up in surrender. "But if you get really tired and weak, I'm taking you home!" He put a pointed finger in the middle of Tommy's chest. "I don't want a certain Mrs. Oliver coming after me!"

"Oh, she's not so tough . . . on you," his bro replied, a strange tone in his voice.

"Coulda fooled me. I wouldn't want to cross her," Jason said, not kidding. Then he caught something in the way Tommy had said that. "What exactly do you mean, 'on you'?"

"She won't come after you or anything. She won't even yell while you're around." A weak smile crossed his face.

Something wasn't right. Jason looked at him questioningly, but Tommy shrugged and passed it off. The subject would come up again.

As soon as they got in the car and started toward the Youth Center, Tommy picked up his cell and called his mom.

"Hi, it's me. Yeah, school went fine. Uh huh. Well, I'm gonna try. Mom . . . Mom, I know. I said I was going to try and I will. I promise. Yes. Yes." Tommy started rolling his eyes. "I know. Listen, college will be there! It's not going anywhere. Okay. Anyway . . . Mom . . . we're going over to the Youth Center now and I'll be home after while," he said in one breath. "Mom . . . I haven't been there in weeks. I want to just go over there with Jase for a little while. I'll get it done, I promise. Mom . . . I gotta go. I'll see you later, okay? Yeah. Bye." He closed the cell phone and threw it at the dashboard. He then pushed his head back into the seat and growled.

Jason had, of course, been listening to the side of the conversation that he could hear. He had also heard a bit of the other side of the exchange too, when Tommy's mom had raised her voice.

"Umm . . . ," he started but was interrupted by Tommy.

"Don't ask. She's being . . . unreasonable, shall we say," he groaned.

He had that 'I don't wanna go into it right now' look on his face. Jason decided to drop the subject for now. He'd try to talk to him about it later.

'_Change the subject, Jason. Come on, think of something to talk about.'_ He really wanted to get Tommy's mind off of whatever was going on at home.

"So, this new girl Alicia seems really nice. You said she was your new lab partner, right?"

"Yeah. She _is_ nice. I wish Tanya and Kat wouldn't be so nasty to her."

"Nasty? Were they?" Jason asked in surprise. That's wasn't like them.

"Well, nasty might be too strong a word. How 'bout catty? They were making faces behind her back and mocking her accent—stuff like that."

"Really? I know why Kat might act that way, but . . . Tanya?"

"Why? Why would Kat act that way? Just because she likes me? I don't think that gives her a reason to do that," Tommy snapped.

"I didn't say it was a _good_ reason," Jason answered quietly.

His bro's tone of voice made him realize that he was taking crap out on the wrong person. Tommy took a few deep breaths and tried to relax a little. "Sorry. And I'm sorry about before. I'll call her in private from now on if that's the way she's gonna be."

"No bro. It's okay. Everybody has problems with the parental units from time to time. I understand." Then he added, "You know I'm here if you wanna talk about it, right?" He placed a hand on Tommy's thigh.

Tommy put his hand on top of Jason's. "I know. Thanks, man."

"Anytime."

After a couple of minutes, Tommy got this funny smile on his face and Jason just had to ask. "What? What did I say?"

"Nothing. I was just thinkin' about something." The red ranger continued grinning.

"Whatever it is, I'm glad it's got you smiling, but . . . you gonna tell me or not?"

Tommy laughed. "I don't think I've ever gotten so much attention from women as I got today. Funny thing is, I hadn't really noticed until Zack made that crack at lunch."

"And that's funny?" Jason was confused.

"It's more than just funny, it's freakin' hilarious!" Tommy laughed again.

"Uh . . . okay. Why?"

"Because now I don't want _any_ of them!" He squeezed Jason's hand.

His bro burst out laughing—if he hadn't been driving he would probably have tackled Tommy right there and shown him how appreciative he was of that comment. As it was, he gave him a wicked grin, "I'll thank you properly for that later on!"

Tommy winked at him. Suddenly, he wanted to be alone with Jason so bad . . . but he also really wanted to go to the Youth Center—their other friends were waiting for them. Maybe if he could just steal a kiss somewhere . . . He thought for several minutes about where they could go to be alone . . . if only briefly.

"Tommy . . . hey, bro. Come in world." Jason was trying to get his attention.

"Hmm? What?" Tommy snapped out of his daze.

"Where were you just now, man?" Jason grinned at him. Tommy smiled back.

"Alone with you . . . now, if I could just figure out where we could go to make that happen . . ."

"Instead of going to the Youth Center, you mean?"

"No, I still want to go there and we'll have some time to ourselves this evening at my house. Right now, I just want a kiss or two—or ten," Tommy winked again.

That got a big smile out of Jason. "Hmmm . . . I don't know. We could drop by my house."

"Nope. We won't leave! If I get you in private right now, it's over with, and we promised the rest of the gang that we'd meet them."

"Okay, okay," Jason laughed. "We'll figure out something."

"I never realized how difficult this was. If you were a girl, I'd just grab you up at the next traffic light—or in the parking lot. But . . ."

Jason nodded in pained agreement. He felt the same way. Neither of them had ever given much thought to the predicament faced by same sex couples. Especially in small towns like theirs. Two people kissing or showing affection to each other in public was usually overlooked, unless it was excessive. But if those two people happened to be both men or women, all of a sudden it was an outrage and detrimental to the community, a bad example to the children, etc., etc. Double standards—gotta love 'em.

Now, though, their new relationship had also brought them new problems. Part of Tommy wanted to say 'Fuck it' and take Jason into his arms and kiss him like there was no tomorrow in front of God and everybody . . . and the other part of him knew they couldn't do that. Not yet, anyway. One of these days, though . . .

"Jase . . . promise me something," Tommy started.

"Sure, what?"

"Promise me that one of these days in the not-too-distant future, that we will be able to kiss and act like a couple in front of our friends—without fear or shame."

Jason was a bit taken aback by that request--he looked at Tommy with an amused/surprised expression. "Umm . . ." he thought for a moment. "Okay, it's a promise." It was good to know that Tommy was as sure about this relationship as he was. He had to be if he was nearly ready to come out to their friends.

"We might want to prepare them first, don'tcha think? Zack won't be the least bit surprised, but everyone else . . . they might freak, bro," he said with that trademark Jason grin.

Tommy knew he'd agree to it. "Yeah, we'll let 'em in on it soon—I just know we're going to get tired of sneaking around. If we can't even find a place to steal a kiss—besides, you always have been something of an exhibitionist . . ." Tommy chuckled.

"Me?" Jason said, hoping to look innocent.

Tommy didn't even dignify that with a comment. He just smirked at him.

Jason suddenly had an idea. "Hey! What about that back alcove at Ernie's? If we can freakin' teleport from back there, surely we can suck face for a minute or two!"

"Ha! Yeah. True. But we'll still have to sneak around. I can just imagine Kat's reaction if she walked up on that!" Tommy grinned in spite of himself.

"You know, you might ought to tell her. It's really not fair to her—you know how she feels about you," Jason advised. It was fairly easy for Jason to be magnanimous toward Katherine—now that he definitely had the upper hand.

"Hmmm. . . I know. I'll have to find the right way to tell her, though. I need her on the team."

"Yeah. Well, I'll just have to try to keep my eyes—and my hands—off of you while she's around."

"Same here!" Tommy said.

____________

Arriving at the Youth Center, they saw Adam's jeep already in the parking lot. They walked in and went straight to the counter where Ernie stood with a big grin on his wide face.

"Tommy, Jason! It's so good to see you both!" Ernie shook Tommy's hand. "What can I get you?"

"Thank you, Ernie. I've missed this place!" He thought about what he wanted to drink. "How 'bout a strawberry/banana smoothie?"

"Comin' right up!" Ernie said in his usual happy manner. "Jason?"

"Umm, I'll have the same, please," Jason said politely.

After a quick glance around, Tommy asked, "Ernie, have you seen the other guys? Adam's jeep is outside, but I don't see them."

"I think they're already in the locker room. Rocky came in talking about some new move he wanted to try on Adam," Ernie answered.

"Uh oh," Jason grinned. "New moves usually land Rocky on his keister, from what I've seen!"

Tommy couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, especially against Adam! Wonder why he never tries his new moves on me?"

" 'Cause he'd be on his ass before he knew what hit him and he knows it!" Jason said.

"Have you sparred with either of them, Jase?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, I have. A couple of times. They're not bad—especially Adam. But I can't wait to get you on the mats again!" He gave Tommy a covert wink. "I've got some new moves for you."

Tommy nearly choked on his smoothie. "Uh . . . yeah. Your sensei teach you some new stuff, huh?" he said loudly, in case anyone had overhead them.

"Mmmmhmmm," Jason nodded, his mouth curled up in an evil grin.

Tommy cleared his throat. "Seriously, I'm anxious to get back at it." He lowered and shook his head when he realized what he had said. Suddenly it seemed that everything they said was laced with innuendo.

Jason just grinned wider.

The aforementioned Adam and Rocky finally came trotting out of the locker room dressed out, towels and water bottles in hand. They looked like they were ready to go at it.

A quick glance at Jason said he was ready to go at it too, but not in the same way. Tommy gave him a look and grinned. "Cool your jets, bro!"

Jason leaned over really close to Tommy's ear and said, "How 'bout I keep my promise right now?"

Tommy turned quickly—he knew he didn't mean it, but . . .

"Not now. Everyone's not here yet," he said, playing along, grinning madly.

From the workout space, Adam saw all this grinning, laughing, and whispering going on.

'_Well, it's good to see Tommy happy again.'_ In fact, he couldn't remember those two looking so happy. _'I wonder . . .'_

His thought trailed off as Rocky started talking to him. They began their session with this new move of Rocky's. Adam had no trouble avoiding or blocking it, but his friend was determined to get it right and take him down. It was a variation of a kick that they had seen Tommy do a hundred times. They kept at it and Rocky finally connected solidly with Adam's chest—he went down hard, nearly bouncing on the mat.

"Oh! Nice move!" Tommy said appreciatively. Rocky was jazzed to get praise from his leader—he took a bow.

Jason also gave a little clap and a "Niiiice."

"Don't get too cocky, dude. We're not done yet," Adam said, standing and ready to go again.

By this time, the rest of the gang had arrived, apologizing for being late—something about the library.

Kat sat on the other side of Tommy from Jason and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "It's so good to see you here again! We've missed you so much!"

"Believe me, I've missed being here. Sitting in that hospital and then at home was driving me nuts!" Tommy replied.

"Oh, we need to talk to Ernie about the party. Excuse us," Tanya said, getting up with Kat and Zack. While they made arrangements for the cake, food, music, etc., Tommy and Jason excused themselves to the restroom.

After taking care of business and washing up, they stood there for a moment to make sure they were alone. Jason ran his hand down Tommy's chest and flicked playfully at the button of his jeans. His bro looked down at what he was doing, and then put his fingers under Jason's chin and lifted it slightly. He leaned in and quickly pressed his lips to Jason's. Someone could walk in at any moment and they would be busted, found out, just . . . out. It sort of made it even more exciting! Jason quickly kissed Tommy again while holding onto his jeans and pulling his bro into him. They kept the kisses short in case that door started opening.

When they felt sufficiently warmed up, they walked out quietly and made sure no one saw them exit the restroom. Then they slipped around the corner and into the back alcove. This little nook was perfect—nothing back here except a trophy case, a pay phone, and the fire exit. Very few people ever came back here, that's why the rangers used it to talk to Zordon through their communicators and to transport out when necessary. Funny, though, that no one ever saw those multicoloured flashes of light coming from back there. Weird.

As they turned the corner, Tommy grabbed the front of Jason's shirt and pushed him into the wall, pressing his body into his bro's and their lips together. Where all this energy came from all of a sudden Jason didn't know, but Tommy was literally all over him! Not that he minded—he gave as good as he got. Jason grasped a handful of silky brown hair in one hand, and Tommy's right bicep with the other. He moaned quietly and pressed his fingers more firmly into Jason's sides. They nibbled, licked, and sucked each other's lips all the while keeping the occasional eye on the doorway. Their hearts were pounding from the emotion, but also from the very real danger of being caught. Several jocks from school came to the Youth Center and if one of them caught Tommy and Jason in their present state of entanglement, their lives would be hell for the rest of their high school careers—possibly longer. But at the moment, none of that mattered. All that did was silky hair, soft lips, firm muscles, wet tongues, and hot breath.

"Have you seen Jason or Tommy?"

"No, not in the last few minutes."

"Did you check the locker room?"

"What would they be doing in the locker room?"

Bits of conversation from familiar voices filtered into their ears—the guys were starting to look for them.

"Time to stop," Tommy said, nearly out of breath.

"For now . . . you're mine later . . ." Jason said and closed his lips around his bro's one more time. They broke apart and walked into the main room, looking like they were deep in conversation about something.

"There you two are!" It was Adam.

"Hey! Were you looking for us? What's up?" Jason said, looking surprised.

"Oh nothing. I thought maybe Tommy wasn't feeling well, that's all," Adam replied.

Tommy smiled at the green ranger. He was a good friend to have—very thoughtful and loyal—always concerned about his friends. "No, I'm fine Adam. I was a little tired at school, but I feel great now."

"Good. The guys were just . . ." his voice trailed off as the familiar tones of the communicator were heard. They excused themselves back to the alcove and were joined by the others.

"Go ahead Zordon, this is Adam," he said without thinking. Tommy, the leader and red ranger was right there. He looked up at him sheepishly and mouthed 'Sorry'. Tommy smiled at him and waved his hand to say 'forget it'.

It was the usual deal: a monster was attacking innocent civilians and they needed to transport immediately. So they did, including Tommy for the first time in weeks. Jason came along too—to keep an eye on his bro.

TOMMY. IT IS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU. I TRUST YOU ARE FEELING BETTER.

"Yes Zordon. I'm much better. Still a little weak, but I'm probably 85%," Tommy answered.

"Hey, Tommy's 85% is better than most people's 110%!" That was Rocky. He was being a little brownnoser, but Tommy loved him for it. He turned and smiled at him.

Zordon and Alpha explained the current crisis to the rangers and they left to handle it, leaving Tommy and Jason in the Power Chamber.

Jason read Tommy's body language perfectly. He laid a hand on his bro's shoulder. "I know, you wish you could go with them."

"Yeah," Tommy said, his voice sounding a bit sad.

"To be honest, so do I."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I miss being part of the team."

One look into Jason's eyes said that he was being sincere. Tommy was about to delve deeper, but Zordon interrupted his train of thought.

TOMMY, I THINK IT IS TIME TO TALK ABOUT YOU REJOINING THE TEAM. ARE YOU WILLING?

Tommy's face broke into a huge smile. "Absolutely! Whenever you think I'm strong enough—I'm ready!" He was excited about getting back in the saddle—it had been too long.

ALPHA NEEDS TO CHECK YOU OUT THOROUGHLY BEFORE ANY DECISIONS CAN BE MADE. PLEASE REPORT TO SICK BAY.

"Yes sir! On my way!" Tommy and Jason left the room and headed down to the fully equipped medical department.

"So, you miss the team, huh?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah. It was nice not to have the responsibility for a while, but after, I'd say 6 months, I really started missing it."

"I'll probably feel the same way when I hang it up for good."

"Any idea when that's gonna be, bro?"

"Not exactly, but Zordon has mentioned that he wants us to be able to go to college 'unrestrained by ranger duties', as he put it."

"Hmmm . . . so maybe by graduation?"

"We'll see. I have no intention of leaving while the Machine Empire is still a threat."

"Spoken like a true ranger." Jason lightly punched Tommy's arm and laughed.

They arrived at the med bay and Jason helped Tommy get up onto the examining table without irritating his sore ribs. Several scans and tests later, Alpha pronounced him 'nearly ready'.

"You're still a little weak, and your ribs haven't completely healed, but otherwise you're healthy."

"Alpha, at the hospital they told me that I had sustained some . . . brain damage. Do you see any evidence of that?" It was still hard for him to even say the words.

"Yes, when I compare these results to tests done before your accident, I can detect the damage. However, I don't think it will cause you any problems as it is."

"Thank you, Alpha. Any idea how much longer it's going to take to get my strength back?"

"That's hard to say--hopefully not much longer. The other rangers need you—and they miss you," Alpha replied.

"I've missed them too."

Jason and Tommy walked back up to talk to Zordon. Maybe there was something he could do. It was definitely worth a shot. Meanwhile, Zordon received the test results from Alpha.

EXCELLENT. YOU ARE ALMOST THERE. IT WILL BE WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOU BACK, RED RANGER.

"Zordon, is there anything you could do to help me get there faster? I feel so useless—I want to be able to help my team," Tommy pleaded.

The rangers' mentor knew that the young man he regarded as a son would get there by himself, but the sympathy he felt for him won out.

YES TOMMY, THERE IS SOMETHING I CAN DO. IF I INFUSE YOU WITH SOME OF MY OWN LIFEFORCE, IT WILL HELP YOU UNTIL YOUR BODY COMPLETELY HEALS.

"Will that hurt you, Zordon?" Tommy asked, concerned for his mentor.

NO. YOU DO NOT REQUIRE A GREAT DEAL. IS THAT PLAN ACCEPTABLE TO YOU?

"Definitely. I would consider it an honour. How do we go about it?"

YOU NEED ONLY LIE ON THE EXAM TABLE AND CLOSE YOUR EYES. IT IS A SIMPLE PROCESS.

Jason was a bit unsure. "Zordon, is there any risk to Tommy?"

NO JASON. NONE WHATSOEVER.

Alpha rolled out the bed and Jason again helped Tommy climb up and lay down. About that time, the rangers returned from their mission. Adam saw Tommy lying there and jumped to the wrong conclusion. He rushed over and grabbed his arm.

"Tommy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Zordon is going to help me get better faster," Tommy reassured him.

"Really? How?" Adam asked.

BY INFUSING TOMMY WITH SOME OF MY OWN LIFEFORCE. IT WILL SUSTAIN HIM UNTIL HIS BODY HEALS ITSELF.

Tommy looked over at Jason who gave him a cautious look. He trusted Zordon, of course, but this was _his_ Tommy. Nothing could go wrong—it just couldn't.

Tommy read the look perfectly. He touched Jason's hand, "It's okay, bro. Really, it is. This will help."

"Okay, if you're sure," he said as he stepped back a bit. Tommy gave him a comforting smile and closed his eyes.

"I'm ready, Zordon," he said.

As the other rangers watched, a beam of golden light came from Zordon's direction and completely enveloped Tommy. Jason watched his face closely for any sign of distress. None came. As a matter of fact, Tommy smiled as if he were being wrapped in a warm blanket and rocked to sleep.

It only lasted about 30 seconds and then the beam disappeared. The red ranger opened his eyes and sat up slowly, like he was trying to gauge how he felt.

"Well?" Jason and Adam said together.

"I feel . . . great! Like my old self." He smiled broadly. "Thank you so much Zordon! This is the best I've felt in weeks!"

YOU'RE VERY WELCOME, TOMMY. He smiled at them.

Tommy hopped down from the table unaided and immediately snatched Jason up in a huge hug, lifting him up off the floor. He momentarily looked surprised, but then his eyes lit up and he laughed and hugged Tommy back. The other rangers, happy to see their leader looking so happy and strong, gathered around the smiling pair. They all talked excitedly about their red ranger rejoining the team. More than one of them noticed that Tommy and Jason never completely broke contact.

Shortly afterward, everyone went their own way and Jason and Tommy went back to the Olivers' house to make a start on all that homework. The house was empty when they arrived and so they grabbed a snack from the kitchen and headed up to Tommy's room, backpacks in tow.

Tommy pulled out books, notebooks, assignment sheets, etc. and he just stared at the pile.

"I don't know if I can do this, Jase. I missed so much work—is it even possible?"

"It is—it has to be, bro. Otherwise you won't graduate and we won't be able to go off to college together this Fall," Jason said.

"You know I'm gonna try, but you may have to go without me," Tommy replied in a dejected voice.

That eventuality was unthinkable to Tommy. Jason was about the only thing keeping him sane right now. Rejoining the team would help, but without his 'rock'—his steadying influence—Tommy could see himself coming apart at the seams. While Jason was gone, pressure from school, from his parents, and from leading the ranger team threatened to tear him apart. Now that his bro was back, he had his shoulder to lean on again and he didn't mind availing himself of that privilege. Not anymore.

So the thought of Jason going off to college without him was extremely upsetting. Now that he and Jason had begun this new relationship, it had given him yet another reason why he couldn't function without him. If he were left at AGH without any of his friends, without Jason, and left to deal with his parents alone—he felt sure the outcome would _not_ be good.

Jason hated the idea too, so the only thing to do was to make sure Tommy graduated on time with him and the rest of the gang.

'_I hope I can get there, too!'_ He was behind as well. "I'm not going without you, bro. That's out of the question," Jason said seriously.

"So, where do we start?" Tommy asked, looking a bit perplexed.

Jason surveyed the piles. "Why don't we divide everything up by subject and see exactly how much you have to do?"

They began organizing everything and then made a short list to help with Tommy's faulty memory.

"Maybe we could get Billy to help some with your Chemistry work. You and I have a lot of the same work to catch up on in History, English, and Trig.—I can try to help you there. And I'm sure the other guys would be glad to help as well. We'll get through it, man. Don't worry," Jason tried to reassure him.

"Okay, let's get started. What's first?" Tommy asked. Because of the 'power boost' Zordon had given him, he felt really good and clear-headed. What better time to start?

"Umm . . . let's do this English assignment—it shouldn't take long," Jason offered.

That one quick assignment out of the way, they began working on another. Jason excused himself to the restroom and left Tommy diligently working away. As he was washing his hands, he heard Mrs. Oliver's voice coming from Tommy's room. She had come straight up to his room as soon as she had gotten home. She wanted to see how his first day back went.

"Do you think you can get caught up, dear?"

"I'm going to try, Mom. I want to graduate with my friends and go to college in the Fall. You know I'm gonna try hard to make that happen."

"We can hire a tutor if you need one."

"I know, but let me try it without one first, okay? Jase, Adam, and the gang will help me."

"Hmmm . . . I don't know. You know you can't do it by yourself, baby. They'll have to help a lot—do they have the time?"

"I'm sure they'll do all they can, Mom."

"It's just that . . ." she paused for a moment, "well, sometimes you don't catch on very quickly, Tommy. You have to have things explained over and over again. Do they have the patience to deal with you?"

Tommy sighed. "I think so, Mom. They know I'm not always the sharpest knife in the drawer."

She patted his head. "Awww, it's okay darlin'. You can't help that. Hey, maybe Jason could help you out. He's always been so bright and since you boys are so close, he'll probably have the patience to explain every little thing to you . . . like you need." She stroked his hair while she talked.

"Yeah, Jase said he'd help and he's got some catching up to do too, since he was in Switzerland."

"Jason is really intelligent—he'll get himself straightened out in no time," Mom said.

"Wish I was like that," her son said, almost sadly. He really wished his mother would give _him_ a compliment like that.

"Awww, just do the best you can. As long as you go to college somewhere—that's all I'm worried about. You can't even flip hamburgers without a degree anymore," Mrs. Oliver said with a warm smile as she turned and walked out of his bedroom.

Jason hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but as he was standing just inside the bathroom door that was adjacent to Tommy's room, he couldn't help but overhear. His mouth had fallen open when he heard what his bro's mother had said. She obviously didn't know she was being overheard and Jason had never heard her talk to him like that. She was so . . . condescending.

'_God, how could she purposely make Tommy feel so inadequate? It was like she was actually . . . no, I must have misunderstood.'_ He replayed the conversation in his head—he came to the same conclusion. His fists tightened.

'_No, I'm right. She was basically telling him that he's . . . slow, at best. Stupid, at worst. How could she say those things to her own son?'_ He had to talk to Tommy about this. _'Tommy was just going along with it like he believed her! Surely he doesn't think that she's right!'_

Jason walked back into Tommy's bedroom and quietly closed the door. Tommy glanced up from his desk where he was still working and then looked back down.

"Hey Jase, about this English assignment on Chaucer, what do you . . ." Tommy started but was interrupted.

"Bro, I gotta talk to you about something," Jason started.

Tommy noticed the serious look on his face, so he put the book down that he had been holding. He gave him a questioning look. "Sure, what's up?"

"First of all, I want you to know that I wasn't trying to listen in to your conversation with your mom. I was just standing in the bathroom and I accidentally overheard," Jason said.

"Yeah . . ."

"Well . . . Tommy . . . I can't believe some of the things I heard her say to you! Does she always talk to you like that?"

"Like what? What do you mean?"

"Bro, maybe I misunderstood her, although I doubt it, but it sounded to me like she was telling you that . . ." he couldn't just blurt that out. "Well, she was being rather condescending, don'tcha think?"

"Hmm? You think so?"

"Absolutely!" Jason said indignantly. "Telling you that you don't catch on very quickly and that you have to have every little thing explained to you . . ."

"Well Jase, isn't that true? At least some of the time?"

"Tommy, everybody is like that some of the time. I'm sure she's been like that at one point or another, but it's the way she said it."

"She was just trying to help, I think." Tommy didn't really believe that, but he was a little embarrassed that his friend had overheard.

"Help? Is that the way to do it?" He paused, trying to choose his words carefully. "Please don't get me wrong, bro—I love you, you know that—and I'm not trying to get something started here, but . . . she was basically trying to make you feel inferior. Why would she do that?"

"Jase, she was only telling the truth. My memory is so bad and sometimes I _am_ . . . slow." Tommy had a pained expression on his face.

Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Tommy, that's just not true! You are _not_ slow! Tell me you don't really believe that!"

Tommy sighed and dropped his head. "I . . . I don't know. I'd like to think that I'm at least average. My grades aren't that bad."

"Bro, you're above average! I'd put money on it! Would Zordon entrust the rangers to you if you weren't intelligent enough to handle it? No way! I'd bet if your mother knew how many times you've saved this city . . . and her . . . she wouldn't think you were slow!!" Jason said, getting more and more upset.

"Sometimes I really wish I could tell her. If she knew that, she might actually be proud of me . . . for once."

Tommy looked so dispirited and depressed. Jason was hearing things that he couldn't understand, being from a loving, supportive, close-knit family. Like so many others who have grown up with security and warmth, he had just assumed that Tommy's home life was just like his. He was only just beginning to find out different.

He held out his hand to Tommy and gently coaxed him out of his desk chair and onto the bed beside him. Tommy still looked down at the floor, his shoulders rounded and slumped—he said nothing, but his body language spoke volumes. Jason lifted his chin with two fingers and gazed into those big, pain-filled eyes. He looked like a little 5-year-old who desperately wanted his parents' approval, but wasn't able to get it. Jason very gently and lovingly pressed his lips to Tommy's. When he pulled back and looked at him, his love's eyes were still closed and then he lowered his head again. Jason pulled him into an embrace and just held him, stroking his silky hair.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Jason spoke. "I think you're absolutely perfect, bro. You're brave, warm, kind, funny, intelligent, freakin' gorgeous . . . and you have excellent taste in men!" Jason was trying to make him smile. It worked. Tommy laughed a little in spite of himself and raised his head off of Jason's shoulder. Swiss chocolate eyes met midnight dark ones and they simply gazed at each other for a few moments.

"Thank you, bro. What would I do without you?" Tommy smiled at Jason.

"I hope you never have to find out," Jason said and smiled back. "Tommy, you are my dream come true—I love you so much."

"I love you too," Tommy said as he wrapped Jason in another embrace.

_________________

_Author's Notes: Well now we're beginning to see where some of Tommy's neurosis comes from. Next chapter: The team gets a new(?) ranger, some of Tommy and Jason's friends start to get a little suspicious, and the gang throws Tommy a big party with some interesting results. See you all next year!! Don't forget to review—I appreciate it as always! _


	16. A New Addition to the Team

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Remember: This is slash! If male/male sexual encounters bother you, hit that 'Back' button now! Also, if it's been a while, you might want to watch the Zeo episode "A Golden Homecoming" (available on YouTube) to refresh your memory. A portion of this chapter is my take on the parts they left out of that ep.

**Chapter 16—A "New" Addition to the Team**

Katherine sat alone in her bedroom, trying in vain to get some homework done. She just couldn't concentrate. Since leaving the Power Chamber, her mind had been occupied—by Tommy. She was very glad that Zordon had given him that infusion because now he could rejoin the team immediately. She had been waiting for that for weeks—not only because the team needed him, but because she had missed him so much.

Katherine was beginning to think that she really didn't understand the depth of the relationship between Tommy and Jason. She hadn't been around in the beginning when Tommy was under Rita's spell and was one of the toughest foes the power rangers had ever faced. Apparently, he was very good at being bad. She had heard the stories of how Tommy had very nearly killed Jason, how they had broken the evil spell and set Tommy free, how he was invited by Jason to fight along side them, and how terrible Jason had felt when he wasn't able to get to the green candle in time to keep Tommy from losing his powers. Zack and Billy had told her how Jason and Tommy had connected instantly and how they had actually been jealous. Those two were practically inseparable before Jason left for the Peace Conference in Switzerland.

Their friendship didn't seem to suffer, however, just because they were half a world apart. She knew that they had kept in touch and saw each other at every opportunity. The first time Katherine had met Jason was on one of his trips home. Her first impression was a good one—it certainly made Tommy happy to see him. She could tell how much they meant to each other. The red Zeo ranger could go on for hours telling stories about things they had done together, pranks they had pulled on the other rangers, the tournaments they had won, etc., etc., etc.

And then came that horrible afternoon when Tommy and Adam failed to show up for a mission. The newly-remodelled warehouse district was under attack and when Alpha called them, only herself, Tanya, and Rocky showed up. The AWOL rangers couldn't be contacted by communicator and Billy and Alpha were too busy with the Machine Empire's latest threat to thoroughly scan for them. Eventually though, they were located—at Angel Grove Memorial. Katherine still remembered the sick feeling that came over her when she heard the news.

That whole terrible episode had been tough on her. She and Tommy hadn't gotten to the stage of their relationship that she would have liked—namely dating—but she still felt very deeply for him nonetheless. First and foremost, she was his friend and it was so painful to see him lying there, day after day, with all those wires and IVs attached, not moving—no change, no improvement. She had wondered if she would ever see those café au lait-coloured eyes again. She had considered what it would be like if he woke up . . . different. She knew that he had sustained some kind of brain injury. What if he woke up severely 'damaged'? Could his family and friends deal with it? Could she? She had even thought that maybe it would be best if he just slipped away—quietly, peacefully, just stopped . . . being. It would be heartbreaking to lose him, but wouldn't it be better than him lying there like that for the rest of his natural life?

And Jason—he was so grief-stricken that his friends were sure that they would lose him too if the worst should happen to Tommy. The way he stayed by his side, not leaving the hospital, sometimes not talking to anyone but Tommy. She had never seen devotion like that. It was as if they were part of each other—could one truly survive without the other?

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Katherine decided that a call to her closest confidant was in order and she decided to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" Tanya answered.

"Tanya, hi girl. You have time to talk?"

"Sure, I needed a break from this Sociology homework anyway. What's up?"

"Well, something's bothering me and I can't quite place my finger on what it is," Kat answered. "But I know it has to do with Tommy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm really glad he's better and now he can rejoin the team and all, but . . . I don't know. He seems more distant and even less interested in me than ever and I don't know why."

"Well Kat, you know he's been through a life-changing experience. Maybe he's still trying to sort things out in his head," Tanya said, trying to be helpful.

"I know, and I'm trying not to be petty and selfish, really I am. I know he's got lots of things on his mind." She paused. "He _does_ seem happier lately, don't you think?"

"Absolutely! He's just so glad to be outta that hospital and back to school . . . and now he can rejoin the team. What's not to be happy about?!" Tanya offered. "And, of course, there's Jason."

"Yeah," Kat said, then she asked, "What do you mean about Jason?"

"You know, he's been reunited with his eternal best friend—that's gotta make him happy!"

"Tanya, how much do you know about their relationship?"

"Only what I've heard—from Billy, mostly—and what I've seen since Jason came back. Why?"

"I don't know. It's probably nothing . . ." Katherine began.

"Come on, girlfriend, give . . ." said Tanya. She knew when Kat was holding back on her.

"Okay, but like I said, it's probably nothing." She stalled for another moment, taking a breath. She was afraid this was going to sound stupid. "This afternoon, after Zordon had finished the infusion . . . um, did you notice anything . . . odd . . . about Tommy's reaction?"

"Odd? No, not especially. What did you think was strange?"

"Okay, here it is: Didn't you find it weird the way Tommy jumped down from the table and grabbed Jason up in that huge hug? The way they touched and looked at each other—seemed a bit more than brotherly to me, Tanya."

"Katherine! What are you suggesting?"

"I don't know, nothing I guess. I'm probably inventing things in my mind."

"If you're thinking there's anything more than brotherhood between two of the straightest guys I know, then yeah . . . you're inventing stuff. I'll admit, they're a little more touchy-feely than a lot of guys, but still . . ."

'_I thought you didn't know Jason that well,'_ Katherine thought.

She thought about it for a minute. "You're right, Tanya. I must be nuts. I guess I just want so badly for Tommy to be attracted to me, that I'm seeing competition even in his best friend. I told you it was nothing."

They laughed it off and talked for a few more minutes about nothing in particular. Then they both decided that they really did need to get to work on some assignments and they hung up. Katherine's concerns were largely allayed for the moment.

__________________

The first part of the school week went by pretty quickly. The highlight for Tommy—they had one of the Machine Empire's monsters to deal with. Nothing particularly fearsome, just some garden variety baddie up to no good. But Tommy was elated to get back in the saddle and he fought like a man possessed.

The gang all went to the Youth Center everyday after school. One afternoon, the guys were particularly full of energy and they decided to do some serious sparring. It started out with Rocky vs. Jason and Adam vs. Tommy—winners fought each other.

Rocky actually held his own for a while against Jason, but he sensed that the former red ranger was holding back—he was right. After Rocky got in a lucky combination that put him on his ass, Jason decided to stop playing nice and he cranked it up a notch or two. Rocky was dropped twice before he really knew what was happening. Panting and sweating, he conceded to the more experienced fighter and they downed some water while watching the other matchup.

Adam wasn't doing much better against Tommy. While the ranger commander was bigger than the green Zeo ranger, he was still every bit as quick. Adam couldn't throw anything that Tommy couldn't easily block or avoid and he was getting a bit frustrated. That's what Tommy was waiting for. As soon as Adam dropped his guard even the slightest bit, he found himself on his back looking up at a grinning Tommy.

"Froggy, stop holding back. I told you—I'm fine, completely healed—thanks to a little 'extra help'".

Bad thing was, Adam _hadn't_ been holding back. Before much longer, Adam sat beside Rocky watching the main event—Jason vs. Tommy. They had never seen them spar before, but they guessed that a lot of people had. That is, if the gathering crowd was any indication. Girls that neither Adam nor Rocky had ever seen express any interest in martial arts suddenly stopped what they were doing and moved in to watch. But then it was taken as read that Tommy and Jason were two of the best-looking guys in town—that had to be the reason, they decided. Of course, Kat, Tanya, and Alicia, all of whom trained, were very interested in seeing this matchup. The combatants decided to make it a no holds barred, all out—but friendly—brawl. They had such an audience, 'why not' they thought.

Zack was appointed referee for the match. He trotted up to the middle of the mats and made his announcement.

"Okay guys, screw point karate—just fight! Best out of 7 falls wins—out of bounds counts as a fall, okay?"

They both agreed. Zack walked over to clear some people back from the edge of the mats. "Better step back, they can get a little wild," he told them with a grin.

Alicia turned and looked at Tanya. "Looks like we're in for quite a show."

Tanya nodded. She couldn't wait to see this.

Jason and Tommy bowed to Zack, then to each other, and adopted a ready stance until Zack signalled for them to begin. They both fell quickly into their favourite fighting stances and proceeded to circle each other looking for an opening.

As the action got underway, the other rangers assessed the match-up: Tommy was a couple of inches taller than Jason—long and lean with incredible reach because of his long legs; agile and quick with reflexes like a cat, and almost acrobatic with his jumps and flips. Jason easily outweighed him by as much as 30 pounds now, but he used this to his advantage. He was a very capable and experienced fighter.

Jason, while not as fast or as tall, was still plenty quick and accurate with his strikes and kicks. His biggest assets were his brute strength—he was built like a tank with his broad chest and muscular biceps and thighs; and his incredible balance—he was steady as a rock and didn't falter at all when deflecting, absorbing, or even catching some of Tommy's punches and kicks. His timing was excellent and he was an intelligent fighter. It was easy to see why Jason was chosen to be the first leader of Earth's rangers.

Adam and Rocky were watching with rapt attention. "Wow, Tommy can catch some serious air with those jump kicks!" Rocky said in amazement, even though he'd seen him do it dozens of times. "Does he always fight like this or is he just showing off?"

"I don't know. I'm usually too busy trying not to get my ass kicked to watch him too closely. Did you see Jason just catch that punch and push Tommy off balance like he was a kid?" Adam responded.

They realized that Tommy and Jason had been just toying with them earlier—the green and blue Zeo rangers were both black belts and could hold their own in a fight against most anyone, but the two young men currently battling it out in front of them were on a much different level. They apparently had another gear that neither Adam nor Rocky had.

Standing off to the left, the ladies were cheering the combatants on. Secretly, Tanya and Kat wanted their commander to win, but they were all friends so as long as no one got hurt, the outcome was really not important.

When Tommy managed to take Jason down for the second time, they cheered loudly and high-fived each other.

"I take it you want Tommy to win," Alicia said.

"Well, it really doesn't matter who wins, but we've known Tommy longer, so I guess . . ." Tanya was explaining, but her voice trailed off as a huge "Ohhhh!" went up from the assembled crowd as Jason had just made a sweet move and registered his second take down.

Jason pulled a smiling Tommy back up to his feet as they prepared to continue their match. Everyone seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, none more than the fighters themselves. It had been way too long since they had been able to go at each other like this.

"Jason is _very_ good, I don't know . . ." Alicia declared, and then added, ". . . but then they're both excellent! I wish I could do half of what they're doing out there! They make it look so easy!"

"Well, they've both been training since they were like 4 years old. They've learned a lot in 13 years!" Katherine said.

Back over on the other side, Rocky and Adam were still watching the battle with great interest. Neither of them had ever been able to best Tommy in a match and they had always been told that the only person who could was Jason. This proved true again today as Jason took Tommy down for the third time and won the contest 4-3. Tommy had let himself be taken out of bounds once, so Jason had gotten the point for that. The red ranger had protested to Zack, but to no avail. He was out and that was that. Jason and Tommy both grinned and accepted the ref's decision.

"You always did like Jase best," Tommy shot at Zack after the match, a big smile on his sweat-streaked face.

"Yeah, yeah . . . you can have a rematch any time you want," Jason said, wrapping his arm around Tommy's shoulders. "Let's hit the showers."

They headed off to the boys' locker room to get showered and changed while the others ordered some drinks and made themselves comfortable.

"Wouldn't it be great to have a guy like Jason on the team? I mean, we could definitely use the backup sometimes," Adam said over his orange-mango smoothie.

"Yeah, of course it would. As long as he didn't expect to be red—I don't think Tommy would go for that," Rocky answered.

"Oh, I seriously don't think he'd want that. He knows this is Tommy's team. Besides, they're too close to argue over something like that."

"True. If they were going to, I think it would have happened already. Remember Billy telling us about the change in leadership that came outta nowhere?"

Adam nodded. "From what I understand, they never did have it out over that. I wonder how Jason _really_ felt about Zordon's decision to put Tommy in charge?"

Rocky shrugged and gave Adam a mischievous grin. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Huh. No way. I don't know him _that_ well!"

"Well, you're right about one thing—we could use his talent on the team. Anybody who could take on Goldar single-handed is pretty tough."

"Jason and Tommy both have and they're still here to tell the tale—I'm glad they're on our side."

"No kiddin'."

There's no way they could have known at the time, but three days later the team would have a new member.

Because Billy was unable to take the gold ranger powers from Trey of Triforia, another willing recipient had to be found. Truth be known, Tommy was very happy when the former blue ranger was unable to absorb the power. He felt bad for Billy because he knew how badly he had wanted to rejoin the team in the field, but he was actually more useful to them in the Power Chamber. Tommy felt that they needed a proven warrior to help them bring down the Machine Empire and he knew just who would fill the bill. He didn't drop any names to the other rangers, but they knew who was at the top of a _very_ short list.

Tommy transported back to the Youth Center where they had to leave Jason when the emergency rescue mission to save Trey had been called by Zordon. Oddly though, Jason was nowhere to be found. Ernie told Tommy that Jason had left about 20 minutes earlier, but where could he be? He tried to raise him on the comm. link.

"Jason? Come in, bro."

"This is Jason. Go ahead." He sounded a little odd, Tommy thought.

"Where are you? I need to talk to you about something important."

"I'm at home. Come over if you want." He didn't sound like himself.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Tommy made his way to the Scott home wondering what was bothering his best friend. He had seemed fine earlier.

Not bothering to knock at the front door, Tommy went straight up to Jason's room and found the door closed. He knocked, but slowly opened it and peeked in before getting an answer.

"Jase? You in here, bro?"

"Yeah, come in," the voice came from the direction of the bed. Jason was sprawled out across the big bed with his English book in his hands.

"What's up?" he asked as the red ranger came over and sat beside him.

"First of all, are you okay? You sounded . . . well, a little upset over the comm. I thought you were going to wait at the Youth Center for us."

"I'm okay." He paused. Tommy gave him a look that said he knew better. "I don't know . . . I guess I felt a bit left out. I had to remind myself that it was my decision to leave the team."

Tommy couldn't have asked for a better segue. He rubbed Jason's back soothingly.

"You really miss being a ranger, huh?" Tommy's face broke into a wide smile and Jason gave him a bewildered look.

"What would you say to another chance?"

Jason sat up quickly. "What? Are you serious?!"

Tommy nodded, still grinning madly.

"But how? Who . . .?"

"I'll explain on the way. We can't use the transporter right now, so we'd better get going. We don't have much time."

They jumped into the Mustang and headed toward the Power Chamber. Tommy got Jason up to speed on the gold ranger's situation as they drove.

"What about Billy? Doesn't he want to take the power from Trey?" Jason asked.

"He wanted to, but unfortunately his body can't absorb the power because of negative ions or something—you'll have to ask him for the specific reason. Someone has to take the power now or it'll be lost."

"Well, I hope I'm able, but . . . poor Billy. He must be pretty disappointed."

"Yeah he is, but honestly . . . I'm glad he couldn't do it."

"Really? Why? Something wrong between you and Billy?"

"No no—not at all. Me and Billy are good—it's just that, whether or not he wants to admit it, he's much more valuable to the team behind the scenes working his magic at the Power Chamber. Out in the field, we need more brawn than brains."

Jason shot him an amused look. "I think I've just been insulted!!" He punctuated that comment with a pout. Tommy immediately realized what he'd said.

"No Jase, I . . . that's not what . . . damn." He looked flustered. "You know I didn't mean it like that!"

Jason held his hand up to his best friend. "I know bro. It's okay. You just want me for my body. I understand."

"Jase . . ."

"No no . . . I'm no Billy. I know that."

"And he's no you, so would you shut up now?!"

Jason grinned. "I love to watch you squirm, babe."

They drove as close as they could get to the Power Chamber, parked the car, and struck out on foot for the last part of the trip.

"Be on the alert—Mondo is no doubt waiting for us to show ourselves."

"Right. Tell me again why we can't use the transporter."

"Because all of the available power is being channelled into recharging the golden power staff—we can't morph or transport right now."

After a minor run-in, they made it to the Power Chamber unscathed and introduced the former red ranger as the new gold ranger. Everyone seemed genuinely happy and excited to have Jason on the team. Everyone except Billy, that is. His half-hearted welcome and cool demeanour did not go unnoticed by the new ranger. He realized that Billy was probably just disappointed, but come on . . . they had been friends forever. Jason was hurt.

The transfer went flawlessly and the new ranger revelled in the feeling of the power coursing through his body again. Being back in the fight with his bro by his side was wonderful. The team was different, the villain was different, but the feeling that he was part of something great was the same.

After their victory, they returned to their home-away-from-home, the Youth Center. A mini celebration was held to welcome the "new" ranger—smoothies all around—new guy buys. Everyone was jazzed to have such an experienced and fierce fighter join them. Tommy was glad that his best friend wouldn't feel left out anymore.

_______________________

Jason and Tommy made use of their little corner of the Youth Center a couple more times during the week. They had it so bad for each other—they could hardly get through the school day. At lunch, they had fun pushing the envelope—they started by touching each other's legs under the table and worked their way up to a full-on grope—they just burst out laughing when no one noticed anything at all. Getting a bit careless could be dangerous, though. Their friends, except for Zack, would be surprised—even shocked—but they would get past it. However, there were several groups of guys at AGH who made it their business to torment anyone who was known to be gay, lesbian, or bi. As a matter of fact, a couple of young men had been beaten pretty badly last school year because of their orientation. Tommy and Jason could take care of themselves, but any one person left to defend themselves against 5 or 6 big jock types would be in trouble.

After they left the Youth Center everyday, they would both go to either Jason or Tommy's house to work on that pile of homework that they had. Some schoolwork _would_ get done, they made sure of that, but inevitably someone would start something innocently enough and they'd end up all over each other. To this point, all they had done was a lot of kissing, feeling, and groping, but nothing more serious. It wouldn't wait much longer. The lust between them had ramped up to near-unbearable levels—it was time to escalate.

On Friday, they went directly to Tommy's house after school to get ready for the party—Jason brought his clothes with him so that they wouldn't waste time going to both houses. As usual, no one was home at the Olivers' when they arrived. They grabbed a quick snack and headed upstairs to Tommy's bedroom. They locked the door out of habit and Tommy dropped his backpack. He caught sight of something his brother had given him sitting on his desk.

"I think you'll like what I'm wearing tonight, bro. It's something cool that David gave me," Tommy said, smiling.

"Oh, I'm sure I will. You look good in anything . . . or nothing!" he grinned wickedly.

Tommy returned the look. "How would you know? It's been quite a while since you've seen me naked."

"I know this, if you look that good in clothes, I'll bet you're awesome in the buff!" Jason licked his lips. "Shall we find out?"

"Only if I can undress you at the same time," Tommy suggested, winking.

"Sounds great to me. Come here," Jason motioned for his bro to join him.

Tommy flipped on the stereo and walked over to Jason. They stood beside the bed and embraced for a few moments, nuzzling each other's necks. They kissed briefly and then Jason took hold of the hem of Tommy's t-shirt and pulled it off over his head. Tommy followed suit. When both were bare-chested, Jason reached up and gently pulled the ponytail holder out of Tommy's hair allowing those soft locks to lay across his bare shoulders. Tommy shook his head a bit—it had gotten so long now that it easily covered his shoulder blades--Jason loved to play with his lover's mane. He ran his fingers through the dark brown silk a few times and watched as Tommy's eyes closed and lips parted slightly. Never one to let an invitation go by, the gold ranger placed a hand on either side of the well-defined jaw line and pulled him into a passionate kiss while pressing his body more firmly against his bro's. As their naked chests came together, they both revelled in the sensation—they craved this kind of contact.

Once they came up for air, they began to simultaneously unfasten and unzip the other's jeans. They took turns working them down and off of their lover. Once free, they stood there in their ever-tightening boxers with their arms around each other, caressing bare backs and chests until Tommy sat on the bed and pulled gently at Jason to sit beside him. Jason complied and quickly found his mouth enveloped by soft, wet lips. Their tongues explored and teeth nibbled gently. It felt so good to just be together—they simply couldn't get enough.

At some point, they found themselves lying in each other's arms on the bed, long legs intertwined, Jason's face buried in Tommy's neck while Tommy kissed, bit, and sucked at Jason's left shoulder, working his way up. Jason eventually untangled himself from his lover and with his powerful legs rolled them both over so that he was on top. He pushed himself up on his arms and gazed down at Tommy's beautiful face below him, the flame of desire alive in his eyes. Tommy ran his hands up and down Jason's muscular biceps, their eyes locked. The gold ranger thrust his hips and rubbed his chest up and down against his bro's making Tommy moan and grasp tighter onto Jason's arms. He moved his hands up into the short, thick hair and coaxed his head down to his mouth.

"God Jase . . . I want you so bad," he breathed into his bro's ear.

"You've got me—any way you want me," Jason answered in a sexy whisper while nibbling at Tommy's earlobe.

His lover whispered back, "Really? You sure about that?" Jason couldn't see Tommy's face, but he heard the wicked grin that his best friend wore.

"Absolutely." He raised his head back up to look Tommy in the eyes. He wanted him to see the sincerity on his face. "Whatever you want—just tell me." He leaned in and placed a wet kiss on Tommy's mouth.

'_I'm ready—ready to give him anything and everything. Even if I really don't know what I'm doing . . .'_ Jason realized he was at a slight disadvantage experience-wise, but he figured instinct would take over. Besides, Tommy had no experience with men, so they were even there. Still . . . he was nervous.

"Are you nervous?" Tommy asked.

'_What? Are you in my head?! Am I acting nervous?'_ "Ummm. . . a little. You?" Jason replied.

"Yeah I am, but I want you too bad for that to get in the way. It'll be okay, bro. We'll find our way." Tommy placed a reassuring kiss on Jason's open lips and smiled at him. He slid his hands under Jason's boxers and grasped the muscular backside—his fingers gently grasping and caressing. He then locked his eyes with Jason, asking permission without saying a word. His bro took a slightly shaky breath and gave a small nod. Tommy began to slide the underwear down from his hips, moving slowly so as not to unsettle his lover's nerves. Jason rose up enough for him to push them down to his mid-thigh. Rolling off of Tommy, he quickly got rid of the white athletic boxers and then turned his attention to his friend's. He knelt on the bed next to Tommy, hooked his fingers under the waistband and slowly ran his hands from his stomach around to his sides and back again. Then he pulled gently downward and removed them. On the way back up, he rubbed Tommy's legs with his large, warm hands. Both of them were trembling—an explosive combination of desire and nerves. Jason leaned over and kissed his bro's flat stomach and continued up to his waiting mouth. Tommy's arms wrapped around his lover and he pulled him down onto him in a passionate, full contact embrace. Hands were exploring, grasping, caressing all that naked skin—they devoured each other's mouths—legs intertwined and rubbed against each other.

Tommy managed to roll them both over to put him on top now. Supporting himself with his arms, he pulled himself up and down Jason's body in complete frontal contact. They could each feel the other's erection rubbing against their skin—that was a new sensation! Tommy carried on stroking his lover's body with his own—it was driving Jason wild! He grasped onto his bro's shoulders—eyes closed, mouth open—his breathing more laboured now. Tommy placed a wet kiss on that open mouth and then whispered, "Hold that thought" and got up.

Jason was shaken out of his daze by that and he watched the red ranger walk over to the door to ensure that it was locked. He turned the light off and then closed the blinds on his way back to his waiting lover. The room became dimmer, but there was still plenty of natural light. They could see each other perfectly. He looked down at the utterly naked, magnificent man laid out like a warm breakfast on his bed waiting for him. The dark eyes that met his own were full of lust and desire.

"Damn Jase . . . you're . . . wow," Tommy whispered in admiration. Jason just smiled. Tommy gently rubbed his hand up one of his bro's thighs, across his crotch and onto his stomach. Jason drew in a sharp breath and jumped a little at the sensation—he wasn't expecting that.

His bro reached down and opened the bottom drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a small hand towel and a tube of lubricant. Jason knew right away what he was planning—his heart pounded.

Trying to calm his nerves a little, he said, "A good boy scout is always prepared, huh?"

A wicked grin crossed Tommy's face. "I was _never_ a boy scout . . ."

He proceeded to place a good amount of the slippery stuff in the palm of his hand and then he made a fist to warm it a little. He slid down onto the sheets, lying next to Jason and started to kiss and nibble at his lips. Inside, Jason was shaking—so was Tommy. After a few moments, Tommy's prepared hand found its target and he slowly began stroking his lover's rock hard erection.

Fireworks went off in Jason's mind—he was having trouble believing this was happening! He could only think, _'Don't stop—oh please don't stop!'_

Tommy looked at his partner's face, trying to get some sense of whether he was doing this right or not.

'_I know what I like—I just hope it's what he likes.'_

"Tell me what feels good and what doesn't, okay?" Tommy whispered into Jason's ear.

The gold ranger was laying with his eyes closed, hands grasping onto his partner wherever they could. "Mmmm-hmmm. You're . . . doin' fine," he gasped out with difficulty.

Tommy grinned a wicked little grin and his hand started moving faster—simultaneously he began biting Jason's neck. A deep, growling moan met his ears.

'_God, I love that sound. I must be doing something right.'_

Now Jason couldn't be still, he was breathing harder and harder, groaning with every breath—his muscular body tightening, his back arching. He was almost there.

Tommy tightened his grip and gave his partner a hard, full-length stroke. Jason moaned loudly and clenched the bed with one hand and Tommy with the other. His lover kept it up until Jason's entire body tensed at once and he went over the edge with an intense groan of sheer ecstasy. Shock waves shot through his body and he shivered and moaned.

Tommy watched in satisfaction--that was one of the most erotic things he had ever seen . . . and they were just getting started . . .

Jason slowly opened his eyes and saw the chocolate eyes he loved looking down at him. His lover smiled at him and pressed their lips together.

"Oh wow, that was intense," the gold ranger managed to say, still panting.

"Mmmm," Tommy cooed, refusing to detach himself from Jason's neck. When he finally did, he breathed hotly into his bro's ear saying, "My turn."

Once Jason had recovered, he was more than ready to return the favour. He propped himself up on his left side and ran his right hand all over Tommy's chest and stomach. He licked and teased his lover's nipples soliciting moans of pleasure.

"Mmm Jase . . . that feels so good," Tommy purred. "Don't stop."

Between licks and nibbles, Jason whispered, "Don't worry, I have no intention of stopping."

Tommy, with his eyes still closed, smiled and caressed the shoulders and biceps of his lover, enjoying the wonderful sensations that washed over him. Jason reached over and picked up the tube and squeezed some of the lube into his palm. Making a fist to warm it, he rubbed the back of his hand across the top of Tommy's thighs. As his hand moved across Tommy's stomach, he could feel him trembling.

'_He's as nervous as I am—that's good to know.'_

Jason brushed his lips against his bro's a couple of times, teasing his mouth. When Tommy raised up just enough to catch Jason's mouth in a wet kiss, his lover's hand reached its goal. He jumped slightly when he first felt Jason's touch, but he settled quickly and relaxed into Jason's caresses.

Jason was as unsure as Tommy had been about exactly how to go about this, but he guessed that whether you're doing it to yourself or to your lover, it's pretty much the same. His hand moved slowly at first—part of him couldn't believe he was doing this—another part was very excited to finally be living out one of his many fantasies involving Tommy. He had lots of them—now he intended to start knocking them off one by one . . .

"Ohhh . . . mmmm," Tommy shivered slightly at the wonderful sensations he was feeling—all thanks to this gorgeous man he saw over him.

"Harder," he whispered and Jason was quick to accommodate him. He tightened his grip slightly on the steel shaft in his hand and began stroking a little faster. Jason felt fingers pressing harder into his shoulder and neck as Tommy's breathing became faster. Jason licked and kissed the panting mouth below him, loving the deep groans he heard. He watched Tommy's face and body, wanting to live this experience as fully as he could—he had wanted to be with his Tommy like this for so long. Now that it was finally happening, he didn't want to miss a moment. He wondered briefly what it was going to be like when they made love for the first time.

'_I'm gonna lose my mind—I'm absolutely sure.'_

For now though, he was content with the wave of lusty sounds coming from that beautiful mouth. Tommy was very close to the pinnacle—his entire body was tensed—he moaned with every quick breath. Jason squeezed and stroked harder. Tommy latched onto him—his head pushed back into the pillow—mouth open, panting. Finally, his lover reached his climax with a loud passionate groan that sent shivers down Jason's spine. Tommy's body shook and his breath caught in his throat.

"Mmmm . . . ohh . . . damn Jase . . . wow," he managed with difficulty.

Gentle kisses were placed on his neck and he felt his bro's warm body stretch out and embrace his own. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal. He turned to Jason and pressed his lips to his best friend's. They kissed and nuzzled each other for several minutes, savouring the moment they had both been waiting for.

After a while, the gold ranger caught sight of the clock on the nightstand.

"Whoa bro, we need to get ready for the party."

"What time is it?"

"It's nearly 5. The party starts at 6:30," Jason answered.

"Okay, I'll jump in the shower," Tommy said, reluctantly pushing himself up from the bed. He leaned back down and kissed Jason one more time before heading off to the bathroom. His bro watched every move that his naked body made.

Once Tommy had gone through the door, Jason lay back on the bed and replayed in his head what had just happened. He was still having trouble believing that all this was real—it seemed like one of his best erotic dreams: Tommy's perfect, hard body glistening with sweat, panting and moaning with the pleasure he was giving him . . . those gorgeous chocolate eyes looking up at him--his open, wet lips practically begging to have Jason's tongue thrust through them . . . grasping, clutching hands pulling his body into Tommy's . . . just thinking about it was getting Jason hard again. He decided to do something about it.

Closing the door slowly and taking care to make sure it was locked, he moved slowly toward the shower door and began sliding it open. Tommy stood there with his eyes closed, hands in his wet hair, water rolling off his muscular, tanned body.

Jason sucked in a quick breath, "Damn . . ."

Tommy jumped, startled. "Fuck! Jase! You scared the hell outta me!"

"Sorry. Just thought I'd join you. You don't mind, do ya?" a wickedly grinning Jason asked.

Tommy returned the grin. "No, not at all. The more the merrier!"

He stepped back to give Jason room to get in. He couldn't help but notice that his bro was fully hard again. Looking him in the eyes, he licked his lips and wrapped a soapy hand around Jason's sex.

"Whatcha got here? You haven't been starting without me, have you?" He pressed his wet body against the gold ranger's.

Jason couldn't even speak—he just grasped Tommy's waist and seized his mouth in his own. They explored each other's mouths in minute detail. After coming up for air, each soaped his lover's body while massaging, stroking, and kissing. That turned into one _long_ shower. They finally got out and wrapped themselves in towels and checked the time—it was getting late.

"We'd better hurry! Fashionably late is one thing, but . . . come on!"

Jason went into the bedroom to get dressed and Tommy started drying his hair. He smiled broadly as he thought about his lover.

'_Jason is so gorgeous . . . and he's mine . . . wow.'_

His thoughts stayed on his bro as he brushed and dried his long tresses. They had come so far in the short while that they had been together—especially considering neither of them had ever had a serious relationship with another man before. He so wished they could be open about being together—at least in front of their friends. He sighed.

'_Soon . . . but not yet . . .'_

He walked back into his bedroom and beheld the object of his desire standing there dressed only in black jeans. They fit like they had been custom made for the gold ranger. Tommy, still in just a towel, smiled and bit his lip. "Mmm, nice."

"You too, but get dressed before I rape you!" Jason responded, threatening to strip Tommy of his towel and make them even later for the party.

They both laughed and continued getting ready. Jason pulled on a black, half-zip shirt that fit him like a glove. The white stripe running along the shoulders only emphasized his muscular shape even more. He finished it off with a yin yang necklace, a small hoop earring, a nice leather belt and black boots.

Tommy put his jeans on—the ones that still fit him best—and went to his closet to pull out his favourite new shirt. He put it on and turned to Jason who was busy combing his hair.

"What do ya think?" he said, modeling the garment for his bro.

Jason's eyes widened. Tommy stood there in a deep red, long-sleeved shirt that laced halfway up his chest—the leather laces had been left loose so the center of his chest could still be seen. The collar, chest placket, and cuffs were made of leather, dyed a deep red to match the shirt, and had beautiful, intricate black and red beadwork on them that had been done by a native craftswoman on the reservation. It didn't fit tight, but it accentuated his shoulders, pecs, and arms beautifully. Around his neck was his half arrowhead necklace and a small, silver feather earring hung from the small hoop in his left ear. His silky hair hung long and loose across his shoulders.

Jason whistled. "My god, Tommy . . . wow. You look . . ." he paused trying to find the right words, ". . . good enough to eat! And you think _I_ should model?"

Tommy gave him a big, bright smile. "Glad you like it! David had it made and gave it to me last week. He came all the way over here to the house just to bring it to me."

Jason thought that was great, but didn't see it as a big deal—the rez wasn't that far away. Tommy soon helped him understand the magnitude of the situation.

"See, Mom doesn't like David or Sam all that much and really doesn't want them in her house. David knows that, but he said that he didn't care—he was going to see me regardless and bring me this gift. Isn't it great?! There's no telling how long this beadwork took to do!"

Jason couldn't help but smile—Tommy looked like a little kid on Christmas morning showing off his favourite new toy. He was so freakin' cute! Suddenly though, the smile left his face as he thought about something Tommy had said—something that he had suspected for a while now.

"Why doesn't your mom like Sam and David? What's the problem?"

"I think she feels threatened. She has always been afraid that my birth family would track me down and want me back. Now that I've found them, she tries her best to keep them away," Tommy explained.

"But you're 17 years old! Surely she's gotten over that by now," Jason offered.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because she's a prejudiced bitch!" Tommy looked a little upset.

Jason was surprised by Tommy's sudden hostility. "Prejudiced against natives? But _you're _native—that doesn't make sense."

"Yeah well, prejudice usually doesn't make sense. You and I know I'm native, and just about anyone who looks at me can tell I have a lot of native blood, yet she still tries to deny it. When I was little she didn't say much about it, from what I remember. But the older I got, the more Indian I looked and she couldn't deal with it. When I asked questions about my heritage, she would pass it off as unimportant and pretend she knew nothing about it. She kept insisting that my birth parents were either Italian or Spanish," Tommy said, looking incredulous.

"Do you think she had any idea of your real heritage? I mean, from what you've told me, the only thing they knew for sure was that your first name was Tommy and that was only because your name was in your clothes and embroidered on your blanket," Jason proposed.

"Yeah, I think she had some idea. I've always thought she knew more than she was telling me—I can't explain why—but she definitely knew I was at least half native. Turns out, I'm like ¾." He turned to pull something out of a desk drawer. Turning back to Jason, he held up an ornate, obviously handmade object.

"Do you know what this is?" Tommy asked his bro.

"I think so. It's a dream catcher, right?"

"Yeah, it is. Sam gave it to me after I got out of the hospital. It should be hanging in my window, but I'm afraid to put it up there. She might rip it down—and it's pretty delicate."

Jason watched Tommy turn it around and admire the beads, feathers, and leatherwork. There was an odd look on his face—not quite sad, almost like . . . longing. After a couple of minutes, he put the beautiful object back in its hiding place and turned back to Jason.

Putting on a smile, he said, "Come on, let's get out of here. We have a party to go to!"

Jason stepped up to him and put his arms around his bro's waist. "Bring some clothes with you—you're staying over at my house tonight."

Tommy smiled at him and kissed him sweetly. "I love you—you know that?"

"Yeah, I know--I love you too. Let's go."

______________

_Author's Notes: This chapter got waaaay too long, so I divided it up into two. The next one will be posted shortly. Okay, I need to know—in light of the boys escalating sexual escapades, should I go ahead and change the rating to Mature? I want some opinions here. Also, I have enabled 'anonymous reviews' so that those of you who aren't registered on the site or don't want to log in can leave a review. There's lots of folks reading and not saying anything—maybe this will prompt some of you to let me know what you think. Opinions are always welcome!_


	17. Tommy's Party

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Thanks so much for all the great reviews! This puppy is now officially rated Mature—and it will get more mature, just so you know. For those who asked, AWOL is military terminology for Absent WithOut Leave, a.k.a. missing. And now, on with the show!

**Chapter 17—Tommy's Party**

Jason pulled up to the front of the Youth Center parking lot and slid the car right into a spot marked "Guest of Honour". Tommy grinned and shook his head—looks like they had thought of everything. A quick glance at the clock said that they were only 15 minutes late—not bad considering! The parking lot was full—Tommy recognized Adam's jeep and Zack's car parked a few spaces down.

Getting closer to the entrance, they saw a big sign on the door:

Friday—6:30-Until—Private Party—Invitation Only

There were balloons clustered on either side—green, white, and red—naturally.

"Looks pretty exclusive—hope we can get in!" Jason joked. He took hold of the door and ushered Tommy in. Grinning, his bro walked in and paused in the foyer.

"Do I look okay, Jase?" Tommy asked, looking suddenly nervous and pulling at the jeans that were a little too big—he was afraid that he still looked pale and thin.

Jason looked surprised. "Huh? Are you serious? Tommy, you're fuckin' gorgeous, I told you that!"

"You're biased, babe," Tommy countered.

"No, I have eyes, bro."

"Yeah, and a big cock that you seem to be doin' all your thinking with lately," Tommy said with a wicked grin and a wink.

Jason did _not _see that one coming. Momentarily stunned, he stammered, "Uh . . . damn . . ."

Once he composed himself, he shot back, "You like it and you know it! Now get your sexy ass in there!" He pointed toward the main room of the Youth Center and gave his lover a playful push.

"Tommy!"

"There's our guest of honour!"

"Hey man!"

Friends came from every direction to hug him, shake his hand, or pat him on the back. Katherine gave him a tight hug and took the liberty of lingering a bit. She finally stepped back and gave him a long up and down look.

"Wow! You look wonderful, darling!" Kat cooed, smiling. Tommy smiled back.

Jason was standing right there, listening. _'Darling? What? I don't think so!'_

"Umm . . . let's get something to drink, bro," Jason said as he nudged Tommy toward the counter. Ernie took their order and they stood at the bar talking to a group of friends. Jason stayed stuck to Tommy's side without really realizing he was doing it.

The place was decorated up very nicely with balloons, streamers, and a huge banner that read 'Welcome Back Tommy!'. There was lots of food laid out, a massive cake, loud music, and free video games—everything the Youth Center could offer. The gang had invited lots of people from school and some from the rival high school who happened to hang out there anyway.

Jason spotted a pretty brunette heading their way—he recognized her as Alicia, one of Tommy's Chemistry partners. She really was very pretty—and sweet—he didn't understand Kat and Tanya's attitude toward her.

"Tommy, Jason! Hi!" she said in her lovely accent. "Thank you so much for inviting me!"

Tommy turned fully toward her and gave her a beautiful smile. Alicia stood for a moment taking in the sight of the two best friends in all their glory—they were certainly something to behold!

"Hi Alicia! I'm so glad you could come!" Tommy responded.

"Having fun so far?" Jason asked.

"Oh yeah, absolutely!" she answered. "I know a few people here and your friend Rocky has been very nice about introducing me to lots of others."

Jason and Tommy smiled at each other. _'I'll bet he has. Good ol' Rocky—always on the make!'_

"Rocky's nice like that," Jason said.

"Absolutely. Eager to please—that's our Rocky!" Tommy added, both of them grinning.

"And Adam's a real sweetheart, too," Alicia noted.

"Great guys, both of 'em."

"They are. Especially to pretty girls like you," Tommy said with a warm smile, reaching out and touching her arm.

Alicia actually blushed. "Me?" She looked shyly up at the red ranger. "Why, thank you Tommy!"

The aforementioned Rocky walked up just then and asked Alicia to dance. She readily accepted and they went off to the makeshift dance floor a.k.a. the gym floor.

Jason winked at Tommy, "Wanna dance?!" He gave him a big grin.

"Firstly, I don't particularly like to dance. Secondly, it's a little early in the evening to shock our friends out of their minds, don'tcha think?" Tommy answered. Then he added with a wink, "Maybe later."

Jason laughed and stood up. "Fine. I'll find someone that'll dance with me if you won't. He playfully tossed his head in the air and walked over to a pretty blonde standing not too far away. Her name was Emily. She, like Alicia, was fairly new in town and Jason had recently befriended her. He briefly wondered if he should leave Tommy alone, but . . . he was a big boy. Besides, he could keep an eye on things from the floor.

Tommy watched them talk for a few moments and then she took Jason's hand and they walked onto the dance floor. Jason was a good dancer—at least to the slow stuff, anyway. Maybe one day he and Tommy _would_ dance in each other's arms in public . . . but that day wasn't today.

Tommy absentmindedly watched them for a couple of minutes until Zack shook him from his daze.

"Hey, don't worry. He's yours, believe me!" he said quietly so only Tommy could hear.

"Huh? Oh yeah . . . I know," he smiled at Zack. "I'm not worried—just thinking."

"About . . .?" the former black ranger queried.

"Well, I just wish we didn't have to be so secretive, ya know? At least among our close friends," Tommy answered.

"Then don't be—tell them. They'll be okay with it, I'm sure."

"Hmmm, I don't know, Zack. I know that you're okay with it, and I kinda believe Adam would accept us, but . . . I'm not so sure about Billy, Rocky, Kat, and Tanya."

"If they can't accept you for who you are, then they aren't very good friends, right?" Zack asked.

"True, but I need them. I can't afford to drive a wedge into the team just so I'll be more comfortable in my private life."

Zack smiled and put his hand on Tommy's shoulder. "Spoken like a true leader. You're right, of course, but I still don't think you're giving them enough credit. Give it some thought, okay?"

"Sure. I will," he smiled at Zack. It was a little weird talking about his and Jason's relationship with anyone, but if not for Zack, they might not have a relationship to talk about. They owed him big time.

From the dance floor, Jason watched as Kat made a beeline for Tommy as soon as Zack had walked away. He saw her toss her hair and laugh at something Tommy said. The red ranger was still sitting on a bar stool with his back to the counter and the tall blonde was getting as close as she could without sitting in his lap. Tommy didn't seem to mind either. He also didn't seem to mind when she ran her fingers up and down the beadwork on the front of his shirt. In fact, he smiled. He was probably telling her about the shirt being a gift from David and how the intricate beadwork was done on the reservation. Jason continued to watch as the pink ranger reached up and ran her fingers through Tommy's hair, pushing it back so that she could, apparently, admire the feather earring he wore. That also didn't bother Tommy—but it bothered the hell out of Jason!

'_Man, she's laying it on thick! She _better_ back off!'_

His anger was rising—he could feel his neck getting hot. He knew this was going to be a problem, but he had underestimated how quickly his jealousy would take hold of him.

All at once he felt a hand tap his chest. "Earth to Jason! Hey!" It was Emily. Apparently, she had been trying to carry on a conversation with him and he had been so wrapped up in watching Kat paw Tommy that he hadn't been listening.

"Hmm? What? . . . I'm sorry Emily, what did you say?" he tried to cover himself.

"What's so interesting over there?" She turned to look in the direction he had been staring. She immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Oh, it's Kat. That explains it. But she's interested in your best friend—you're not thinking of trying to take her away from him are you?" she asked, half kidding.

'_I'd like to take her permanently away from him, but not for the reason you're thinking.'_

"What? No. I'm not attracted to Kat, if that's what you're thinking," he answered.

"You're not? Why? Every other guy seems to be," Emily shot back.

"Besides, even if I were—which I'm not—what makes you think I could take her away from Tommy who she is obviously quite enamoured with?" he said tersely, trying not to give himself away.

"Jason, I'm surprised at you! You could have any girl you want and you know it. I mean, Tommy's cute, but he doesn't hold a candle to you!" Emily admitted.

The gold ranger looked at her, astonished. He figured he was fairly good-looking—he had been told numerous times by numerous people.

'_But Tommy . . . Tommy is just . . . gorgeous. Look at him!' _Jason thought.

"You're nuts, Emily. Tommy's got me beat by a mile and a half!"

"Nope. Don't think so. Not to my eyes, anyway," she smiled up at him and he couldn't help but smile back. However, his mind was still on the Tommy-Kat situation.

Finally, the second song ended and Jason let go of Emily's waist as they walked back toward the bar. His only thought was getting in between his lover and the flirting blonde that was currently determined to start feeling him up. Just as they reached the couple of steps that divided the room, Kat went too far. She put her hand on Tommy's thigh, just above his knee, but she was moving up.

'_Oh fuck no! No way, bitch—back off!'_

The gold ranger was ready to make a scene, if necessary, to get Kat off of him, but just as he got close enough to say something, Tommy reached down and stopped the offending female hand and removed it from his upper thigh. He gave her a look—not angry, but kinda stern—and shook his head.

"Please don't do that Katherine, okay?" he said to her shell-shocked face. She wasn't used to being turned down.

She pulled her hand from his quickly. "Ummm . . . sorry, Tommy."

Just then Jason pulled up a stool and sat down beside Tommy so close you couldn't get a breath between them. He shot a look at Kat that obviously made her uncomfortable.

"I think I'll get something to eat. Come with me, Emily?" the pink ranger said.

Emily gave Jason and Tommy a questioning look and said, "Sure, Kat." They went off together to the other side of the room. Jason watched Kat all the way, burning holes in her back with his dark eyes.

"Jase, come on. I can handle her. You have nothing to worry about, I told you that." Tommy knew his bro was becoming less and less tolerant of the blonde's advances toward him. Only just yesterday they had had a talk about her.

It seemed to Jason that the 'little bitch' never missed a chance to touch, clutch, grab, and otherwise grope Tommy and no matter how nonchalant the red ranger acted toward her, she just kept it up.

"Can't she take a hint?" Jason had asked Tommy. He understood that 1) Tommy was a really sweet guy who never hurt anyone's feelings if he could help it and 2) As the rangers' leader, he had to try to keep the peace, but it was getting to the point that she wanted to be attached to Tommy's hip every time they were in the same room.

And then the last straw, in Jason's eyes anyway, came a couple of days ago when they had returned from a mission—Jason's first since rejoining the team.

In the Power Chamber, they all stood around congratulating each other on a job well done as per usual. They were all especially ecstatic to have their leader back and also a 'new' addition. Jason was about to give Tommy a brotherly hug when Kat sprang in between them, pushing Jason back a bit with her body. She hugged him and then proceeded to rock and turn Tommy around until his back was to Jason and she gave him a look over Tommy's shoulder—not quite a glare, but more of a mocking look—complete with a smirk. Jason took that as a challenge, but his bro told him he was crazy—for that to be the case she would have to know about their relationship. Jason proposed that she did know or at least had an inkling and that she was determined to come between them—literally and figuratively. Tommy had assured Jason that he would handle it and that he had absolutely nothing to be worried about, but scenes like the one that had just happened pissed the gold ranger off. One of these days he was going to blatantly tell her that Tommy was his and for her to go fuck herself, but he didn't think it would come to that just yet. What he really wanted to do was lead his lover out onto the dance floor, slide one hand into a back pocket, grab a handful of that mane with the other, and proceed to kiss him breathless.

"Jason . . . seriously. I'll talk to her, okay?" Tommy said, trying to keep things from escalating. He knew his bro rather well and he had that look.

"Okay, but make it soon," Jason responded sternly, looking at Tommy with those stormy black eyes.

Thankfully, several of the guys walked up just then and pulled them both over to the food table. Rocky's family had made several special dishes just for Tommy and the blue ranger was anxious for the guest of honour to dig in.

"Awww man, look at all this great stuff!" Tommy said, rubbing his hands together. "I don't know where to start!"

"Just pick up a plate and go for it! Make sure you try everything though, I have to report to Mom, ya know!" Rocky said with a laugh.

Tommy gave him a big smile, "Okay. She's trying to fatten me up, right?"

Jason rubbed his hand across Tommy's stomach. "You can afford it, bro. Eat!"

The red ranger grinned and touched the hand on his midsection. They exchanged a look.

Jason knew Kat and Emily were seated fairly close and were watching the whole scene. He purposely stuck right beside Tommy and touched him as often as he could. When they got to the end of the table—the end nearest the girls—Jason shot a look at Kat as he and Tommy went to sit down with their plates.

"What was that for?" Emily asked.

Kat looked in their direction. "I have no idea," she lied.

Emily thought it best not to push the matter, so she let it drop. She turned her attention back to the piece of black forest cake that sat on her plate.

Kat figured that Jason's attitude toward her was the result of one of two things: 1) He had decided that he didn't like her for some reason and, as Tommy's best friend, he was taking it upon himself to keep them apart; or 2) He saw her as competition because he wanted Tommy for himself. The latter was becoming more and more plausible, despite what Tanya had said.

'_But could that really be true? Could Tommy Oliver and Jason Scott be gay? Or bi? Whatever. Was it possible?'_ She decided that it was a long shot, but stranger things had happened. Like her becoming a power ranger, for instance.

The guest of honour sat with Jason, Zack, Billy, Adam, and Rocky and they all stuffed their faces, laughed, and talked. Lots of people stopped by their table to talk for a few minutes—it was great for Tommy to see just how much he was liked. Angel Grove was the first place where he had felt so accepted—it was great.

In between bites of the most delicious pasta salad he had ever eaten, he looked up to see someone who had just made the evening perfect by dropping by—David. The tall, obviously native young man walked in and looked around for his brother. He was even dressed somewhat similarly to Tommy. He wore a tan shirt with laces like Tommy's, jeans, and a white bone choker necklace made with tan leather. His hair was long and straight with a small section on either side braided and pulled back into a ponytail.

Alicia, who was sitting at a table near the door, nearly choked on her soda. She looked quickly back and forth from David to Tommy who was, by now, heading toward his brother with a huge smile on his face.

"My god, there's two of 'em!" she said a little louder than she meant to.

Tommy laughed and smiled at her. After he had given David a big hug, they walked over to her table.

"Alicia, this is my big brother, David. David, Alicia," Tommy said by way of introduction.

David held out his hand to her, "Very nice to meet you, Alicia." He gave Tommy a look and turned back to the young lady. "Don't let that 'big brother' stuff fool you. I'm only two years older."

"Still older!" Tommy laughed and playfully punched his brother's arm. They all grinned and Tommy led David over to the big table where his best friends sat.

"You all know David, right?"

"Yeah, hi David!"

"Great to see you again, David!" came the responses.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat," Tommy said, leading his brother over to the spread. "Man, I'm glad you could come!" he said, his face lit up.

"No problem,_ little_ brother!" David said with a grin. "I told you I'd drop by if I could get away. That shirt looks really good, by the way."

"Thanks. I love it! I really appreciate you having it made for me!"

"You're welcome. I'm considering it my responsibility to make sure you're connected to your heritage—whether that woman likes it or not," David said, of course referring to Mrs. Oliver.

A dark look crossed Tommy's face but left as quickly as it arrived. "Thanks, man," he said quietly.

Alicia was watching the two of them from her table and relating to anyone who would listen how remarkably similar they looked—and how hot they both were. David happened to glance in her direction and caught her looking—she just smiled sheepishly and looked away. He laughed and asked Tommy about her.

As they walked back across the dance floor, Tommy stopped by Kat's table to allow David to say hello. She and Emily had been joined by Tanya.

"Hi David. Nice to see you!" Kat and Tanya said.

"Emily, this is my brother, David," Tommy handled the intros once again.

"Nice to meet you, Emily. Great to see you again Katherine, Tanya."

Tommy then told him that Alicia was new in town, didn't know many people yet, was his Chemistry lab partner, yada yada. He finished by saying that she was very sweet and quite smart.

"You interested, bro?" David asked.

"Me? No . . . why? Are you?" Tommy grinned.

"Maybe. I'd like to talk to her some more," David answered.

"Not a problem. Eat your dinner and I'll invite her over here," he said, smiling. He would love to have his brother around more. Dating one of his friends might accomplish that.

They all talked while Tommy and Jason dug into two huge pieces of cake and David ate pasta and chicken. When they had all finished, Tommy got up and went to find Alicia. Jason and David spoke quickly before he returned.

"Jason, is my brother doing okay? Really okay?" David asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. Healthwise—no problems," Jason responded. David got the idea that there was something he wasn't saying.

"Is something else wrong?"

Jason wasn't sure he should say anything, but David obviously knew of the tension in the Oliver household. "Just his mom. She's being impossible. I really don't like the way she treats him."

"What do you mean? She's not mean to him, is she?" David wanted to know. He had only known that Tommy was his brother for a few months now, but he had that 'protective big brother' thing happening already.

"Well . . ." Jason started but stopped when he saw Tommy coming back with Alicia. "We'll talk later," he promised.

"Okay," David said, giving Jason a look that he intended to do just that.

Tommy pulled a chair up between his and David's and motioned for Alicia to sit. She quickly did so and placed her drink on the table.

"Hi again!" she said to David and Jason.

"Hi yourself. So, my baby brother tells me you're his lab partner. You teaching him anything?" David asked with a big grin.

"Actually," she began and placed a hand on Tommy's closest bicep, "he's teaching me. He's very smart."

Jason leaned into Tommy's ear. "See? Told ya." Tommy smiled at him.

"Really? Well that's nice to know. Guess it runs in the family!" David responded.

"Among other things! How did I get so lucky to be sitting here with the 3 best looking men in the place?" Alicia asked, smiling at each of them.

'_She _is_ a charmer, that's for sure,'_ Jason thought.

They all smiled back at her and continued talking about school, martial arts, and all sorts of things.

From their vantage point, it looked to Kat, Tanya, and Emily like little Miss Alicia had set herself up as the freakin' princess or something.

"Would you look at that? How did she manage that?" Emily asked.

"No idea, but I'd love to find out what she's up to," Kat answered.

David had leaned in closer to Alicia while they were talking. Tommy took this as a good sign.

"So Alicia, I can't help but notice that you look somewhat native. Are you?" David asked. He had a keen eye for things like this.

"Absolutely. I'm a quarter Cherokee," she answered proudly.

"And you're from North Carolina you said, right? That would be the eastern band of the Cherokee nation—a very noble people," David stated.

"Thank you. We have our problems, but . . . several groups, including the tribal council are working hard," Alicia answered.

"Let me guess: alcoholism, unemployment, drug abuse, high drop-out rate, etc., etc.," David responded sadly. "I understand."

"Yeah, that's pretty much the story everywhere, isn't it?"

Tommy and Jason were just sitting back and taking all of this in. The conversation had taken an interesting turn.

Just then, another slow song started playing and David asked Alicia if she would like to dance.

"Sure, I'd like that," she answered.

After they had left the table, Tommy looked at Jason. "Well that's working out well!" He looked thoroughly pleased.

"Did you set that up?" Jason asked.

"No. David expressed an interest, so I got her over here so they could talk, that's all," Tommy responded, smiling.

"Gentlemen, would you care to dance?" The voices came from behind them. They knew who they'd see before they even turned around--Kat and Emily. Jason and Tommy looked at each other for a moment, shrugged, and got up to accept the invitation. Not that they really wanted to, but . . . since they couldn't dance together, they would have to settle for taking a turn with the girls. Reluctantly, they took the hands of Kat and Emily and moved to the dance floor. Tommy made sure that Kat's hands were on his shoulders where they would get into less mischief. His heart was not in this—he spent more time watching Jason, David, and Alicia than he did talking to Kat. When that one song was over, he turned to leave, even though another one was starting. Kat didn't even try to stop him—there was no point.

He walked back over to his table and sat down. He was soon joined by Jason. "Not into it either, huh?" Jason asked.

"No, not really," he said and paused. "If I'm gonna dance, I'd rather dance with you," Tommy answered.

Jason smiled. "Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it? Tell you what, we'll dance together tonight in my room, okay?"

"Okay, you're on," Tommy brightened up a bit with that.

_________________

"Alicia, do you think you could keep Tommy busy for a few minutes? I need to talk to Jason and I can't catch them apart long enough," David asked.

"I'll certainly try. They do seem to be joined at the hip, don't they?" she grinned and went over to sit beside Tommy.

As they began talking, David got Jason's attention and motioned for him to follow him. He walked toward the restroom.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Jason said as he got up from the table and went after David. Once there, Jason looked questioningly at David. "What's up?"

"I wanted to try to finish our conversation from earlier. What's going on with Tommy?" David inquired.

Jason took a deep breath and thought for a minute. "Well David, I don't know a lot, but I really don't like what I've found out lately. I thought that the Olivers, particularly Mrs. Oliver, were your usual loving parents, but . . . I don't know. They usually act like Tommy is the center of their world, but I'm beginning to think that it's just an act. I overheard her talking to Tommy one afternoon and she was treating him like he was stupid—she's even got him believing it! I was so mad—I tried to tell Tommy that she was wrong, that he was well above average, but . . . I don't know if he was buying it. And this thing about his heritage—I only found out about it tonight. Where does she get off denying him links to his family and his roots?! Do you know that he has to hide the things that you and Sam give him?"

"I figured as much," David said quietly.

"Yeah, and she treats him like he's 12. He said that she goes through his room when he's not home. And get this, after everything that Tommy has done, he said he just wishes that they would be proud of him, just once." Jason was getting really upset. "I swear I'd move him in with me if I could."

"You still have my number, right? Use it. I worry about little Tommy, ya know?" David said with a half smile.

"I'll worry about you if he ever hears you call him that!" Jason replied with a grin.

They turned to leave, but David stopped.

"One more thing, Jason," he paused, making absolutely sure that they were alone. He looked Jason straight in the eyes. "How long have you been in love with my brother?"

Jason's face fell off. "Huh?" he said, eyes wide with surprise.

"You heard me," David insisted.

"Umm . . . I . . . uh . . . what makes you think . . ." he started, but the look on David's face told him there was no point in denying it. He was busted. He looked at the floor and took a shaky breath. He didn't know how his lover's older brother was going to take this. He might beat the hell out of him. And David could do it, too—or at least give it a damn good try.

"David, I don't know exactly when it happened, but I admitted it to myself about 2 years ago. I denied it for the longest time—I even ran away to Switzerland to get away from those feelings—but it didn't work. Without him, I felt like a part of me had been ripped away. He's the reason I came back . . . and stayed."

Jason looked up at David's face for the first time since he started his confession—he needed to gauge his reaction. To his great relief, David didn't look angry. He decided to continue, trying to help Tommy's brother understand the depth of his feelings.

"When I got the call that Tommy had been seriously hurt and was in surgery, my world turned upside down. I was terrified that I was going to lose him. At that point, I hadn't been able to get up the courage to tell him how I felt—it scared me that I might not get the chance. I didn't know if he would ever return my feelings—that's why I was so reluctant to tell him—even though we share everything. But after seeing him in the Recovery Room and the close call he had in ICU—and the coma—David, I had to tell him."

The emotions of those days came rushing back and threatened to overwhelm him. David could see the fear and sadness in his eyes.

"And how did Tommy react? Does he return your feelings?" David asked.

"He does. He said that he had been wondering how to tell me."

"Really? So had he been feeling this way for a while too?"

Taking another deep breath, he started to speak, but then he thought better of it. "I think Tommy should tell you that. Umm, meet us outside, okay?"

Jason left the restroom and walked back out to their table. Tommy was still sitting there, surrounded by pretty girls, looking like the lord of a harem. Jason had to grin, even though he wasn't sure how Tommy was going to take this.

"Ummm, Tommy--I need to talk to you about something," Jason said quietly.

Tommy gave him a puzzled look, "Uh . . . okay. Excuse me, ladies." He got up and followed Jason over to the doorway. Before his bro could open the door, Tommy said, "Jase, what's up? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Come out here," Jason replied, pushing the door open. Tommy walked out to find his brother standing there waiting. They walked over to Jason's car and leaned on it. Jason did a quick scan of the parking lot to make sure they were alone and then turned to Tommy.

"Your brother here is a very perceptive person, T. I'm afraid you and I are stone cold busted," Jason said, matter-of-factly.

Tommy's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he knows. He knows about us," Jason clarified.

"You told him?!"

"No—he figured it out."

Tommy looked over at David with a mixture of surprise and apprehension on his face. "You did? And . . . how do you feel about it?" he asked cautiously.

"Well, before I decide that, I want to hear your side of it. Jason has told me how he feels about you—now I want to hear how you feel about him," David replied.

"Ummm . . . I . . . damn, this is hard. I've never had to do this before." He took a steadying breath. "David, I love him—totally and completely. I honestly feel like I can't live without him." He glanced at Jason and then looked closely at his brother's face. He sensed that he needed to elaborate.

"I'm not sure how to make you understand . . . but . . . he fills a void that I didn't even know I had until I met him. I'm just glad we both finally got up the courage to admit our feelings to each other."

"I see," David said quietly. He thought for a minute. "What would you say if I told you that I didn't approve?" He watched Tommy closely.

Tommy sighed and looked at Jason. He then turned to back to his brother. "David, you're my only brother and we've just found each other. I would hope that you would accept me and my choices, but if you don't . . . then we'll just have to agree to disagree. I won't give Jason up."

Jason felt a warmth spread all through him—Tommy was definitely serious about this relationship of theirs.

It was impossible to read what David was thinking or how he was feeling about the news. He remained quiet for what seemed like hours—it was actually about 2 minutes. He looked back and forth between them, staring into their eyes like he was reading their souls. Jason and Tommy exchanged uneasy looks. Finally, he spoke.

"I'm sorry Tommy—I had to know if you were sure about this decision. It is a big one, you know. It could affect the rest of your life."

"I know that," Tommy answered assertively.

"Well, if you two really feel for each other as deeply as you say, then you have something very special. Take care of it and each other. I'm happy for you." He reached out and gathered his quite surprised brother into a big hug and then hugged Jason. He whispered to the gold ranger, "Take special care of him, okay?"

Jason shook his head 'yes' and smiled at David. Tommy still looked shocked, but it was beginning to dawn on him that his big brother had just given them his blessing. "David . . . thank you. Thank you for accepting us . . . and me. You'll never know how much this means to me." He hugged David again.

After a couple of minutes, Tommy suggested that they go back inside—he was the guest of honour, after all.

They walked back in and Tommy's big brother went straight over to Alicia. "Sorry about that—family business. Umm, I have to get going soon—it's an hour drive back to the rez. Do you think I could get your phone number?"

Alicia's face broke into a wide smile. "I thought you'd never ask," she said and proceeded to give him her number and she got his in return.

"I really enjoyed meeting you. I hope we can get together again soon," David said.

"Yeah, me too. I'd love to see the reservation sometime!"

"You . . . you would? Really?" David asked. Not many people from outside the rez wanted to set foot on it. He gave her a big smile.

"I think that can definitely be arranged!" He looked at his watch and frowned. "I have to go. I'll call you, okay?"

"You better, David Trueheart," Alicia smiled.

"I will," he said and leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek. They exchanged goodbyes and David went to find Tommy and Jason.

"Gotta go, guys. I have an hour's drive ahead of me," David said.

Tommy hugged him once again. "Thank you for coming." He paused and then said, "Thank you for everything."

They smiled at each other. "You're welcome, Falcon. I wouldn't have missed it! Jason," they shook hands. "I'll see you guys soon." With that he turned and left.

____________________

"David leaving so soon?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, he's got a ways to drive," Tommy answered.

Several of the guests had left by now, but all of Tommy's closest friends were still there. They laughed, talked, and ate some more—enjoying being together and being really appreciative of the reason for the party—Tommy's recovery.

Over at the guest of honour's table, Tanya nudged Adam who stood slowly and straightened his shirt. Clearing his throat, he said loudly, "Could I have everyone's attention, please? Excuse me . . . everyone . . . please."

As the remaining guests began to quiet down and turn to look at him, he cleared his throat again. "I have been elected to make a little speech for the occasion." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, seeming a little nervous. Tommy and Jason exchanged a smile and turned to look over at Adam standing nearby.

"Tommy, we all want you to know how very glad we are that you've recovered and getting back to your normal life. No one more so than me. For those of you that don't know, Tommy saved my life the day that we both were injured. He pushed me out of harm's way and got caught under the falling debris himself."

Turning to look at Tommy again, he added, "Just so you know, I've worked through the guilt over that but I'll always be grateful, bro." Tommy gave him a warm smile and a small nod.

"As teenagers, we like to believe that we're invincible—that bad stuff only happens to other people. Nearly losing you—one of our closest friends—made us all see that that isn't true. No one is guaranteed a tomorrow, so we all need to live life to the fullest and appreciate our family and friends.

You mean a lot to all of us here—from your oldest and best friend Jason there to your new friends like Emily and Alicia. So at the risk of being mushy, we want to make sure you know that we admire you for your kindness, bravery, intelligence, and sense of humour. You're a very special person, Tommy, and we are all proud to call you our friend."

Everyone applauded and smiled at Tommy. The guest of honour was all smiles, but he was blushing at all the praise Adam had given him. Jason rubbed his shoulder and leaned over closer to his ear.

"He's right, ya know. You're very important to a lot of people . . . especially me." He would have told him that anyway, but in light of recent revelations concerning his homelife, his best friend wanted to make sure he knew that.

Tommy turned to him, still blushing. A light shown in his eyes. "Thanks. You guys mean a lot to me too." He paused and then added, "Especially you."

_______________

Tommy and Jason eventually found themselves in the rest room at the same time. Just a coincidence, but since they were there—they decided to steal a kiss or two . . . or three . . . or twelve. Most of the guests had left by now—in fact, only the rangers, present and former, and 5 or 6 others remained—so they weren't too worried about being found out.

"You looking forward to continuing this party back at my place?" Jason asked Tommy between warm kisses.

"Oh yeah, you know it!" he responded while rubbing his hands up and down Jason's back.

"Mmmmm . . . that feels good. Which gives me an idea—how 'bout we give each other massages tonight?"

"Hmmm . . . do I want to rub your naked body down with oil and run my hands over every inch of you? Hmmm . . . I just don't know," Tommy grinned and quickly kissed Jason's smiling lips.

Jason moved Tommy's hands so that they were clutching his ass and slyly said, "You want me, don't lie." He leaned in and licked Tommy's full lips.

The red ranger laughed and licked him back. "Okay—when you're right, you're right. Matter of fact, I'd jump your bones right here, bro," he whispered, hands still firmly planted on Jason's backside.

That comment earned Tommy a trademark Jason grin. "Well, not here, but how 'bout . . ." he was interrupted as the door starting opening and they sprang apart like they'd been shocked.

Rocky walked in and found them apparently drying their hands. "Oh, hey guys," he said and disappeared into a stall. Tommy waved at Jason to follow him and they silently left the restroom and let the door close behind them. Jason pointed toward the alcove with a questioning look and received a nod and a grin in return.

Slipping around the corner without being seen, they had just stepped into their little hideaway when Tommy felt a grab at the front of his shirt and his back hit the wall. Before he knew what was happening, his mouth was being enveloped in warm wetness and he felt his groin trapped between the hardness of the wall in back and the hardness of Jason in front. His lover had sprang on him like a tiger going for the kill and Tommy was loving every second of his forceful advances.

"Mmmm," he moaned into Jason's mouth while clutching at his attacker's strong body. Their tongues caressed and danced around each other—hands massaged and explored muscular chests, backs, and thighs.

"Ohhh . . . Tommy . . . I want you so bad," Jason breathed into his bro's ear.

"I'm all yours . . . as soon as we get to your bedroom," Tommy cooed.

"Let's go—as soon as we can, okay?" Jason said between rapid kisses.

"Yeah . . . okay," Tommy responded, out of breath.

They kissed each other hard and fast, their lust rising to unbearable levels. Jason thrust his hips into Tommy again and again, pushing him harder into the wall. The red ranger grabbed a handful of short, black hair in one hand and Jason's waist with the other—he was enjoying the ride. Just as Tommy's tongue invaded Jason's mouth again . . .

"Oh. My. God!" a familiar voice gasped in disbelief. Tommy and Jason came to their senses and looked around to see Rocky standing there in wide-eyed, slack-jawed shock. Their hands quickly dropped from each other's bodies as they tried to compose themselves. Both were still breathing hard and looking more than a little dazed.

"What the fuck?!" The blue ranger shook his head as he tried to voice his confusion. His mind was trying to come to terms with the impossibility of what his eyes had just seen.

Tommy cleared his throat. "Rocky . . . I . . . umm," he stammered, having no idea what to say. Jason tried, but had no better luck.

Rocky held up his hands like he was warning them not to come any closer. "Don't talk to me." He began to slowly back away like he was about to bolt. All at once, he looked them up and down with a disgusted look on his face—he turned his back on his friends and disappeared around the corner.

____________________

_Author's Notes: Oh boy! Looks like they're out . . . and somewhat ahead of schedule. Think Rocky's a homophobe? Keep those reviews coming!! Everyone can review now, so I want to see some new names, okay? Next chapter: The guys perform some damage control and finally get around to that 'private party'._


	18. Damage ControlPrivate Party

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Sorry this is a bit late. You know . . . life and all that. Thanks for all the great reviews on the last chapter! Now we're going to find out how at least some of Tommy and Jason's friends feel about their new relationship. Also, it occurred to me that some of my readers may be more into the story than the explicit parts, so I'll try to warn you when that stuff is coming up. You can skip them if you want to. Anything between these symbols: -_-_-_-_-_-_- is a sex scene.

**Chapter 18—Damage Control/Private Party**

Tommy and Jason looked at each other without speaking for several moments. Tommy pushed both hands through his hair and then placed them on his hips with a big sigh. Jason briefly covered his mouth with his hand and then pulled it down across his chin and onto his throat. He sighed as well.

"Fuck!" Tommy exclaimed in a low voice. He and Jason moved over and stood in the doorway that opened to the main room looking for Rocky. They spotted him on the other side of the room at the food table standing beside Adam, looking very intent on talking to him. He glanced up and saw them looking and he immediately grabbed Adam's arm and pulled him toward the door. His best friend went along willingly and they slipped out into the parking lot.

Tommy made a move like he was about to go after them, when he felt a hand against his shoulder stopping him.

"Let him talk to Adam. He'll calm Rocky down," Jason said quietly.

Tommy looked a big panicked, but he knew Jason was right. Adam was level-headed and rather open-minded, as well as Rocky's best friend, so he was probably the best man for the job.

They decided that the best course of action was to act like nothing had happened and wait for the blue and green rangers to return. Easier said than done, though. They were both pretty shaken by being caught for the first time—it wouldn't be the last and it certainly wouldn't be the worst, but at the moment it was fairly traumatic.

"Guess we got a little carried away, huh?" Jason said, after gauging the look on his bro's face.

"Yeah, I guess we did . . . and a little careless." He paused and took a long drink of the soda he had picked up. He looked Jason in the eyes, his own tinged with pain. "Did you see the look he gave us? Like we were nasty or something."

Jason didn't know the blue ranger nearly as well as Tommy did, but he hoped that it was just momentary shock.

"I think he was just shaken up, babe. He'll get over it," Jason said, laying a hand on his lover's broad shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"Hope so . . . I don't really want to have to find a new ranger right now. Besides, Rocky's my friend."

"I know. I like him too--you don't think that was enough to drive him away completely, do you?" Jason asked.

"Probably not, but things might be a little weird for a while."

Jason caught sight of Zack headed in their direction. Maybe the former black ranger could give them some advice, or at least calm them down a bit. He had been so helpful in getting them together in the first place. Jason briefly remembered a conversation that he and Tommy had had a week or so back.

________________

Tommy had finally just come out and asked Jason about Zack's orientation. It had never been an issue before and it wasn't really now, it just seemed to the ranger commander that Zack was different somehow—and who better to ask than one of his oldest and closest friends.

Jason had let Tommy in on the fact that Zack had done a little "experimenting" while they were in Switzerland. Apparently, he had always had an attraction to guys as well as girls, but in the small town of Angel Grove he was afraid to "test the waters", so to speak. Once they were halfway around the world in Geneva though, the former ranger had felt free enough to begin finding out just where he stood. He still seemed to prefer girls over guys, but he did have a couple of male exes still at the Peace Conference. Jason thought that might explain why Zack saw things between himself and Tommy that seemed to wash over the others.

­_______________

"Okay, this is a party and you two are looking waaay too serious—what's up?" Zack asked, putting an arm around each of their shoulders.

Jason looked at his good friend with an anxious look. "We just got busted. Seriously busted . . . by Rocky."

The former black ranger gave them an understanding nod and an almost amused look. "Oh . . . I see."

"It's not funny, Zack," Jason said, looking at Tommy. "He looked at us like we were totally disgusting."

"Been there--done that--got the t-shirt, man. I understand. But this is Rocky we're talking about—he'll get over it." Zack sounded so sure—it lifted their spirits a bit.

"Did he catch you guys back in the alcove?" Zack asked.

They nodded. "Yep. Wait . . . how do you know about that?" Tommy asked, surprised.

Zack grinned broadly. "Because I caught your act back there a few days ago. Very hot! And most definitely _not_ disgusting!"

Jason and Tommy's eyes widened and they stared at him. They were both rapidly turning the colour of Tommy's shirt. "Y-you did? When?" Jason had found his voice first.

"I don't know, Tuesday maybe," Zack answered, still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Tommy wondered aloud.

"What's to say? I was too busy takin' notes!" Zack shot back.

The two new lovers exchanged an embarrassed look and tried to smile. Zack_ was_ making them feel a little better about the situation, though. They just wished they knew what was going on out in the parking lot.

_____________

(Several minutes earlier)

Outside, Adam was being towed along rather quickly by Rocky.

"Rock, slow down. What's so freakin' urgent?!" Adam asked his best friend.

"Just come on. I gotta tell you somethin'," he said.

They arrived at Adam's jeep and got in. Rocky stared straight ahead and sighed heavily.

"Now, what on earth is goin' on?" Adam asked, settling himself behind the wheel. Rocky just sat there—he didn't know how to begin.

"Rocky? What is it, man?" Adam asked again, softening his tone. He had finally realized that his friend had been truly shaken up by something. But what?

Rocky sighed again. "You're not going to believe what I saw. _I_ wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!"

"What?"

The blue ranger turned to face him and looked him in the eyes with a very odd look. "Tommy and Jason . . . kissing." He paused. "And not just kissing—they were all over each other!" That disgusted look had returned to his face—it looked to Adam like he had a very bad taste in his mouth.

Adam's eyes widened a bit, but he wasn't overly surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Can you believe that?!" Rocky asked, incredulously.

Adam remembered a few things that Zack had told him and put them together with his own intuition—2 and 2 definitely came up 4.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I can," Adam responded, much to Rocky's surprise.

"What?! What do you mean?!"

"Rock, I think they've had feelings for each other for a_ long_ time. Apparently, they've decided to act on them," Adam started.

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. Haven't you noticed how much happier Tommy's been lately? And Jason, for that matter? Hell, just the way they look at each other? Has all that just washed over you?" Adam asked his best friend.

"Well . . ."

"Man, Rocky—I love ya, but . . ." he paused and laughed. "Not real perceptive, are ya?"

Rocky looked a little irritated. "Maybe I just attributed those things to other causes, alright?!"

"Fair enough," Adam conceded. "But have you seen them apart lately?"

"No. But they're best friends. _We're_ best friends and you don't see me trying to suck _your_ face off!" Rocky shot back.

"Wanna try?!" Adam said with a wicked grin.

"Adam!! This isn't funny!" Rocky said loudly.

"It's also not life or death, man. So they're involved—so what? They're the same two people they were before you caught them. They're still rangers and they're still our friends, right?" Adam reasoned.

Rocky didn't respond.

"Right, Rocky?" Adam questioned again.

"Yeah. I suppose," he said quietly and sighed. "It's just that, of all the guys I've ever known, those two are the least likely to be . . . gay. Have you ever known either of them to _act_ gay?"

"What exactly do you mean by _acting_ gay? Going out with another guy or acting effeminate?"

Rocky was puzzled. "Effemi-_what_?"

Adam grinned. "Effeminate. You know, a guy acting like a chic. Being a quote-unquote _fairy_." He tried to put it in terms that wouldn't go over the blue ranger's head.

"Oh yeah. Well, either . . . both . . . I don't know."

"No, I can't say as I have. But I seriously don't think they're gay, either."

"Adam. Trust me on this. A straight guy would _not_ do what I just saw them doing. Not to another guy, anyway." Rocky felt certain he had Adam on this one.

"And you think it's disgusting, I take it," the green ranger asked.

"Well . . . yeah. Pretty much."

"Would you have thought it was disgusting if it had been one of them with a girl?"

"No."

"What's the difference?"

"It's . . . it's just not natural."

"Natural to who? To you—no. To them—it could be the most natural thing in the world," Adam said.

Rocky sat there, not saying a word. Adam didn't quite know if he was getting through or not.

"What I meant before is this--I don't think either of them has had any deep feelings for any _other_ guy—not from what Zack has told me." He paused and thought for a moment. "Rocky, you've gotta know that we don't really understand Tommy and Jason's relationship. It's pretty complicated, I think. Everything that they've been through together must have a bearing on their feelings for each other."

"Okay, I'll buy that, but fighting and facing danger together doesn't make you change from straight to gay," Rocky asserted.

"No, it doesn't—but it does bring two people closer together. And if those people already had feelings for each other . . . it's bound to have an effect. Listen, Billy told me that right from the beginning, those two connected unlike anything he's ever seen. And after everything that happened while Tommy was still under Rita's spell, Jason was the first to forgive and welcome him—and Tommy had tried to run Jason through with a sword! Did you know that?"

"No, I didn't." He paused. "A sword? Seriously?"

Adam nodded.

"No one seems to want to tell me much about when the green ranger was evil. Especially Tommy. I've tried several times, but he won't open up."

"He still feels guilty. Even though all of it was completely out of his control, he still feels responsible," Adam explained.

"How do you know so much? When did you do all this talking to Zack and Billy about Tommy and Jason?" Rocky asked.

"While Tommy was in the hospital. It seemed to make them feel better to talk about Tommy, so I just sat and listened . . . and asked the occasional question. They were both so afraid that if Tommy died, Jason would go with him. They're _that_ close, Rock."

The blue ranger wondered where he'd been at the time. "Yeah, I remember hearing someone say that at the hospital. Did they seriously think Jason would commit suicide if he lost Tommy?"

"I'm not sure, but I think they were more worried about Jason becoming totally withdrawn—completely losing himself. That happens when your soul is ripped away. There's only so much a person can take," Adam said sincerely.

"I can only imagine what Jason must have gone through. It must have been horrible. I mean, I consider Tommy my good friend and seeing him like that was very hard to deal with, but . . . it would've been unbearable if it had been you," Rocky said, almost embarrassed by the emotion in his voice.

"Thanks man—I feel the same way. And yeah, it had to have been excruciating for Jason. You know, a near-tragedy like that causes people to reassess their lives—to figure out what, and who, is really important. I think what probably happened was that Tommy and Jason decided that they had wasted enough time and waited long enough. And I would have to agree," Adam said wisely.

"So you're completely accepting of them, then?" Rocky asked.

"Yep. Absolutely. Tommy is one of the most amazing people I've ever met and if he loves Jason that much, then Jason must be too. They deserve to be happy, Rocky."

"Of course they do, Adam. I'm not denying that. And you know I feel exactly the same as you about Tommy—he's great, really amazing—and the more I get to know Jason, the more I like him."

Adam grinned slyly. "I seem to remember a time not so many days ago when you were extremely jealous of Jason."

Rocky blushed, recalling his initial stupidity where Jason was concerned. "Well, I got over that pretty quickly, if you remember."

"What I remember is you thinking you were going to be replaced."

"Okay, okay . . . but I got past that. And Jason has been really great for the team in the short time he's been back. But how I feel about them as people is not the issue here."

"I know, but since we're their friends—their _close_ friends—isn't it our duty to try our best to accept and support them? You know, if they really are in a relationship they'll have to deal with a lot of disapproval and maybe downright hatred. Shouldn't they, at least, be able to count on the people who claim to be their friends?" Adam queried.

Adam _was_ making a lot of sense and Rocky had always considered himself to be a loyal and understanding friend. Maybe he _could_ come to grips with Tommy and Jason being together.

'_As long as I don't have to watch!'_ he thought.

"You're right—we have to try and be supportive. I guess seeing them trying to rip each other's clothes off kinda unnerved me."

"I can see where it would," Adam conceded. _'Wish I'd seen it—bet it was _hot_!'_

Adam was growing accustomed to such thoughts, but he didn't dare say anything to Rocky—especially not now. Besides, he didn't put all that much stock in them anyway. The important thing now was to make sure that two of their best friends weren't feeling alienated.

"Listen Rocky, I think we need to talk to Tommy and Jason. They're probably a little freaked out right now too. Whadya say?"

"Ummm, okay. I guess so." Rocky was slightly unsure about looking them in the face again right now, but Adam had convinced him that they needed the support of their friends. He was willing to try.

"Good. I'll go get them—hold tight," Adam said as he quickly exited the jeep and started toward the doorway of the Youth Center.

_______________

Back inside, the red and gold rangers were trying hard to act natural, but their minds were preoccupied by what was happening in the parking lot.

"Man, they've been out there a long time. Do you think they left?" Tommy asked anxiously.

"I doubt it. They'll be back soon—don't worry." Jason wished he could take his own advice. While he wasn't nearly as close to Adam and Rocky as Tommy was, he still considered them friends and he _did_ have to work with them. He hoped this wouldn't turn into an ugly scene.

Tanya came over presently to inquire about the missing rangers. "Tommy, do you know where the other guys ran off to? Rocky seemed very determined to talk to Adam about something—I hope nothing's wrong."

"I saw them go out to the parking lot a little while ago, but I don't know what it was about," he lied. "They're not back yet?"

"No, I haven't seen them come back in. I need Adam's help with something."

"Anything I can do?" Tommy offered.

"No, you're our guest of honour! I'm not going to put you to work at your own party. I'm sure he'll be back soon." Tanya walked off across the room just as Jason rejoined Tommy with fresh drinks.

"What's up?" he asked, having seen the yellow ranger questioning him.

"She wanted to know what happened to Rocky and Adam. I told her I saw them go outside, but I had no idea why," he paused and grimaced. "I hate lying!"

"I know, I do too, but it wouldn't have been a good idea to tell her what Rocky was upset about, now would it?" Jason reasoned.

Tommy sighed. "No," he said simply.

"Okay then. Let's just chill until they come back in, alright?"

"I'm trying." He was still nervous about the outcome of this. As Tommy was so apt to do, his mind began playing out the worst case scenario: Rocky gets completely unhinged and doesn't want to be around them anymore, which would necessitate him leaving the team. Adam, being his best friend, eventually comes to agree with him and he leaves too. Two friends and two rangers gone. Tommy already suspected that Kat wasn't going to take the news well and that she might be tempted to quit the team—not being able to face the 'happy couple'. That would be three of his closest friends—not counting Tanya. How she would react was anybody's guess. Then he had a thought that made him shudder.

'_How are my parents gonna take this?'_ Only God knew for sure, but Tommy had a pretty good idea—it was going to be ugly. Of course, this wasn't the first time he had thought about the reaction of his parents, but he tried not to dwell on it. In fact, he pushed the question to the back of his mind every time it reared its ugly head, but he couldn't keep that up forever. Sooner or later he was going to have to face it . . . that is, if he was going to persist in having this relationship with Jason.

'_I was so adamant and sure of myself with David just an hour or so ago. Why am I waffling now? Does the idea of Mom and Dad's reaction really scare me that badly? How about the rest of my friends, relatives, and neighbours—how am I going to be treated when and if they find out? Can I deal? Is it worth all of this?'_

He looked over at Jason who was sitting across the table from him, talking to a friend of theirs. Jason felt Tommy's anxious gaze and looked back at him with the most comforting, warm smile he could muster. Tommy barely managed a weak smile. The gold ranger could immediately tell that his bro's anguished mind was dealing with some heavy stuff. He knew him better than anybody—his penchant for self-imposed guilt trips and his habit of letting his imagination run wild. Jason excused himself from his current conversation and drew Tommy off by himself.

"Hey . . . take it easy, bro. Whatever happens, it's going to be okay as long as we have each other, right?" Jason tried to comfort the red ranger.

Tommy thought about that briefly. _'Would that be enough? If it came to it, could I give up everyone and everything to have a relationship with Jase?'_

He looked deep into his bro's midnight eyes and saw concern, understanding, but most of all—love. And then Jason voiced what Tommy knew to be true.

"I love you, Tommy. No matter what."

"I love you too, Jase. I'm just worried."

"And probably letting your imagination run wild and jumping to conclusions, am I right?"

'_Okay—that's annoying. Damn, he knows me too well.'_

"Something like that, I guess."

"Well you know what? I think we've given them long enough. They're discussing us anyway—let's go get in on the conversation!" Jason was in 'take charge' mode—watch out!

Grabbing Tommy by the arm, he started toward the door, gently pulling the red ranger along. Just as they reached the doorway, Adam came in looking for them.

"Oh. There you two are. Can you come outside for a few minutes? Rocky and I need to talk something over with you." Adam had a pleasant look on his face—not the expression you wear when you can't stand the sight of someone.

"Is . . . is everything okay, Adam?" Tommy asked, his voice faltering.

"Pretty much, I think," Adam replied as he walked toward his jeep.

He had no way of knowing what had been going on in Tommy's mind--or Jason's for that matter. He saw both of them as strong, together guys who almost never showed any weakness. He knew a little about Tommy's hangup of blaming himself for everything because of his conversations with Zack and Billy. But he couldn't have fathomed the occasional maelstrom that was Tommy's mind. He really only knew him as either the white or red ranger—strong leader, sure of himself, fierce fighter, loyal friend. He hadn't yet been privy to the Tommy Oliver that Jason knew—insecure, guilt-ridden, shy, and even emotionally troubled. But to be honest, the depth of that part of Tommy's psyche was known _only_ to Tommy and Jason.

They had almost reached Adam's jeep and, thanks to the streetlights, saw Rocky leaning on the hood, arms crossed, staring straight ahead. Tommy immediately tensed when he read the blue ranger's body language—this could get ugly. Jason read both Rocky and Tommy and placed a comforting hand on the small of his bro's back. When Tommy glanced at him, he showed him a small, reassuring smile and a quick nod. Jason was determined to shield Tommy as much as possible—he couldn't help it. He'd always felt protective over him, even though most of the time, Tommy was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. But being physically strong and emotionally strong were two completely different things and his bro was sometimes a touch questionable where the latter was concerned. He needed Jason . . . and it made Jason love him all the more.

Standing in a group around the front of the jeep, the four of them seemed at a loss for words. Tommy uncomfortably shifted his weight from one foot to the other and Jason looked intently at Rocky, trying to read his expression.

Adam broke the silence. "Well okay then—don't everybody talk at once!"

Tommy addressed the blue ranger rather shakily. "Rocky, I'm sorry that you were so upset by Jason and me. We didn't think anyone would see us, but I guess we were a little careless."

"Yeah, we should have been more careful. Sorry, man," Jason added.

Rocky had turned to face them and they were relieved that he didn't look disgusted anymore—nor did he look mad. If anything, his expression could be best classified as confused.

"Well . . . I'm sorry that I ran off like that but . . . dammit, guys! You shocked the shit outta me!"

Quietly and in unison they replied, "Sorry."

However, Jason felt the need to put a qualifier on that. "Just so we're clear on this: We're sorry for shocking and upsetting you—not for being together."

"I understand that. I mean, you guys are free to do as you please—I just never in a million years . . ." he trailed off, not sure if he wanted to finish that thought.

Adam spoke up. "Guys, we had a long talk about the situation and we want you both to know that we're okay about it—we support you."

"Yeah. It's gonna take some getting used to, don't get me wrong, but we want to be there for you. But I gotta know, when did this happen? I mean, I've seen you both with girls—either in person or in pictures—hot girls at that, and now . . . you're together?" Rocky just had to ask.

Jason and Tommy exchanged relieved looks. Maybe this wasn't going to go so badly after all.

Tommy fielded the first question. "Rocky, Jason and I have had feelings for each other for a long time now, but neither of us were sure that the other returned his feelings." He stopped and thought about what to say next. Talking about this still wasn't easy.

"We were both morons—we wasted a lot of time by not just coming out and confessing, but . . . we were each afraid of losing our best friend. After my brush with . . . death, I had a lot of time to think about things. I finally came to completely accept the way I felt about Jason and decided that I _had_ to tell him."

"Only I kinda beat him to it," Jason butted in. "I had been dealing with this for a couple of years—he's the real reason I went to Switzerland _and_ the reason I stayed when I came back. We'll fill you guys in on the details later, but after nearly losing him once, I just couldn't put off telling him any longer. I showed up at the hospital in the middle of the night and . . . well . . . pretty much bared my soul. I'm just sooo thankful that he feels the same way."

Jason and Tommy looked at each other and smiled warmly. They embraced each other with their eyes. The intensity of the emotions between them was obvious, even to Rocky, who still wasn't very comfortable with this new development. He glanced at Adam who was standing there wearing a very satisfied, almost silly grin.

When Tommy could peel his eyes from Jason he asked, "So, are we all okay? Still friends and teammates?"

"Absolutely," Adam readily answered.

"Yeah, we're okay. As long as I don't have to watch!" Rocky blurted out. He grinned sheepishly—he hadn't really meant to say that out loud.

"Oh come on, Rock—we didn't turn you on—even just a little?!" Jason teased.

"Jase! Don't push it!" Tommy scolded.

'_Bet it would've turned _me_ on! Damn, get outta my head!'_ Adam had a small battle going on between his ears. Part of him would love to be a fly on the wall and watch Tommy and Jason go at it—he knew it would be hot! Another part of him was trying to understand why the thought of watching two of his best friends—male friends—ravishing each other wasn't upsetting to him.

'_Whatever. I don't have time to think about this right now.'_

"Tommy, Jason—I do have one more question, if you don't mind," Rocky asked.

"Sure." "What is it?" they responded.

"Everybody talks about how complicated the relationship is between you two. Do you think that, sometime, we could sit down and talk about it? Nothing real personal, just . . . well, you know."

"Yeah, we can do that," Tommy answered. "Now, we better get back inside before they send out a search party."

They started back toward the door. Rocky and Adam in front with Tommy and Jason close behind. Jason did a quick sweep of the parking lot and established that the coast was clear. He caught Tommy's hand in his own and laced their fingers together. Tommy was a little surprised at first, but relaxed when he was sure that no one saw. Besides, he loved the idea of holding Jason's hand in public. He winked at his bro.

Suddenly, Adam turned. "I meant to ask—who knows and who doesn't? I don't wanna screw up and say something to the wrong person."

Jason thought for a moment. "Well, besides you two—Zack and David. That's it so far."

"So, the girls don't know?"

"No, not yet."

"Tommy, it's your business, but don't you think you should tell Kat? You know how she feels about you."

Tommy thought for a moment. "I'll tell her—I've just gotta figure out the right way."

Adam grinned. "Well, you could always walk back into the Youth Center like that," he motioned to their still-clasped hands. "I think that'd do it!"

They suddenly realized that they were still holding hands. It had felt so natural that it escaped them.

Jason laughed. "Yep, I'd say so!"

Tommy rolled his eyes and pulled Jason toward the door. Just before they entered, they reluctantly let go but the gaze they exchanged held promise for later on that night.

___________________

"Jase, what's wrong?" Tommy asked as they turned into the Scotts' neighbourhood. "You've hardly said a word since we left the party.

The trip from the Angel Grove Youth Center to Jason's house was only 10-15 minutes at the most, but still . . . it wasn't like him to be so quiet.

"Nothin', I'm fine," he mumbled without looking at Tommy. He wasn't mad at him or anything, he just didn't want to give his bro the opportunity to read his expression.

"Yeah, right. I know you better than that."

Jason just continued to drive. Just as he reached his street, he sighed. "It's nothin', bro."

"Bullshit, Jase! Why don't you just tell me?" Tommy had a pretty good idea what it was—or rather _who_. Katherine. Her goodnight to Tommy at the party had been a little more amorous than it should have been. Tommy knew that Jason's eyes had been launching daggers at her, but what was he to do? Push her away and cause a big scene? He had done his best to diffuse the situation, but he knew Jason was brooding about it.

They pulled up in Jason's driveway and he killed the engine, but instead of opening the door, he just sat there, staring straight ahead. Sighing once again, he gripped the steering wheel.

"Tell me something," he said suddenly, his voice very serious. "Has she always draped herself all over you like that and I've just been too dense to notice, or is this something new?!"

"Kat has always been sorta 'touch-feely'—you know, touching my arm, putting a hand on my back, hugging--stuff like that. And you know, right after Kim suddenly dropped me like a bad habit, I didn't really mind. Sorta kept me from feeling unloved, ya know? But I would have to say that she's gotten worse about it lately."

"Thought so. Well, I'll tell you this—she _better_ find someone else to play 'touchy-feely' with! I'm not gonna be nice about it much longer!"

Tommy grinned inwardly—he couldn't believe this. Jason was getting this worked up over him being hugged by a girl. _'Okay, it was more than a hug, but still . . .'_

"You're jealous! That's sweet," Tommy said and immediately regretted it.

"There's nothing sweet about it and you're fuckin' right I'm jealous! After everything I've been through to get to this point with you—I'll be damned if that skinny bitch is gonna horn in!" He was getting upset.

"Jase . . . calm down. You know I don't want her—I want you. I'm sitting here with you, aren't I?"

"Well yeah, but that's not the whole issue. If you don't put a stop to it soon, she's gonna mess around and do something that's gonna totally tick me off and . . . I'm not gonna be responsible, T."

"Why does it bother you so much, though? She's not getting anywhere."

Jason thought for a moment. He didn't know if he should tell Tommy—he could be mistaken, but he was sure that Kat had shot him another 'he's mine' look.

'_You're not mistaken, big boy. That bitch challenged you and you know it!'_ his inner voice told him.

"Tommy, she gave me another one of those looks. I seriously think she's trying to provoke me!"

"Exactly what kinda look are you talking about?"

"The one she gives me when she hugs you and looks over your shoulder. She gives me this smirking smile like she's saying 'He's mine'. Burns me up!"

"Are you sure you're not just imagining things? Like I told you before, she thinks we're just best friends—she has no idea about our new . . . umm, arrangement."

"Arrangement? Is that what you call it?" If Jason hadn't been so utterly pissed right now, he would've thought that funny.

"Okay, relationship then. You know what I mean. She has no idea of our new relationship."

"I think she suspects, Tommy. I really do. Either that or she's a possessive bitch who's jealous of your best friend. And I'm not imagining things, 'cause Zack noticed it too."

"What did he say?"

"Right after she did it, he nudged me and said, 'You're not gonna take that are you?'"

"And you said . . ."

"I said 'You saw that too? Hell no, I'm not gonna take it!' I started to say something to her right then and there but . . . I didn't for your sake. Next time though . . ."

"Well, she shouldn't've given you that look, I agree. And she shouldn't've had her hand that close to my ass, but . . ."

"Close? It was _on_ your ass, Tommy."

"Okay, okay. I'll handle it, Jase."

"You've said that before, bro. If you're gonna talk to her, I suggest you go ahead and do it before I severely hurt her feelings."

"I think we need to tell her together, don't you?"

"Yeah, that would probably be the best thing." _'Not to mention it would give me a chance to rub it in her smug little face!'_

"So we'll tell her this weekend then, okay? I've just gotta figure out how to do it." Tommy was still worried about losing his friends and thereby crippling the team.

"Can we go inside now? It's gettin' kinda cold out here."

"Sure. One more thing though," Tommy said with a grin.

"What's that, bro?"

Tommy reached over and cupped Jason's cheek in his hand, leaning closer. "Just this," he whispered and gently pressed his lips to his lover's. Increasing the pressure, he began to tease Jason's lips open with his tongue until he gained entry into that warm, wet mouth. He got a soft moan in return. They kissed deeply for several minutes until Jason pulled back.

"Let's go upstairs, okay?"

"Mmmm-hmmm," Tommy agreed.

___________________

Stopping by the kitchen on the way up to his bedroom, Jason grabbed a couple of drinks for them. Something else caught his attention in the fridge, though. He grinned wickedly and grabbed it—he'd have a use for it later.

"Come on, bro," Tommy said with hunger in his eyes. "Let's go."

"Coming. I'll be right there," he said as he hid the item under his jacket. He wanted this to be a surprise. Reaching his room, he was careful to lock the door tight and he put his things on the desk. Tommy had already put his bag down and pulled out a t-shirt and shorts to change into. While he excused himself to the bathroom, Jason turned on the stereo and found something more comfortable for himself.

As he was changing, Tommy eased up behind him and slipped his arms around his bro's narrow waist. He pressed his naked chest into Jason's back. "Don't bother with the shirt—I'll just have to strip it off of ya," he whispered into his love's ear. He slowly began kissing his way from Jason's well-defined shoulder up to his ear—licking and nibbling as he went. His hands caressed and tickled the gold ranger's stomach and chest, causing him to shiver and moan softly.

Jason turned in Tommy's embrace to face him, seeking out that talented mouth and capturing it in his own. His hands stroked the red ranger's back, softly at first then with increasing pressure to match the dance his tongue was doing with Tommy's. They groaned in pleasure, almost simultaneously. From the stereo came the sounds of a rock ballad that they both happened to like and they found themselves listening to the lyrics in a new light. Almost imperceptively, they began moving with the rhythm of the song. Their arms were wrapped around each other and they shared warm, wet kisses as they were lost in the music and the moment. Jason gazed deeply into Tommy's chocolate eyes.

"Well, you said you wanted to dance . . ." Jason said with a grin. Tommy grinned back and slid his hands down to grasp Jason's tight ass. "Yep, and I'm enjoying this a lot more than I did at the party!"

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, you really didn't seem to be too into it with Kat—and I have to say that I was glad to see that!"

"From what I could see, you weren't all that into dancing with Emily either. You spent most of your time watching me, whether I was at the bar or dancing with Kat," Tommy countered.

Jason lowered his head, a little embarrassed. "You saw that, huh?"

"Yeah, I did—but only because _I_ was watching _you_ most of the time, too."

They shared a smile and pulled each other a little closer. A sudden rush of emotion washed over Jason. "God, Tommy . . ." he whispered. "This feels so right, so . . . deep. Why did we wait so long? Why did we have to be such morons?"

Tommy looked at Jason with an immense amount of emotion in his eyes. "I don't know, bro. I suppose we're just inclined to be morons—but I'll be a moron for you any day."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He ran his fingers up into the dark hair and tilted his lover's head back, giving him better access to his neck. Gently, he placed a suckling kiss on the side of Jason's throat and slowly moved to the opposite side. A soft but deep moan resonated up from Jason's chest, into his throat, and Tommy felt the vibrations pass into his mouth. A spark shot downward directly into his groin. Taking in a sharp breath, he went at his lover's neck with increased intensity, targeting the large vein running down the side, nipping and suckling. Jason's head was laid back, his eyes fluttering with the sensations he was experiencing. That maddening mouth was traveling down onto his chest and shoulders, tracing his muscles with the tip of his tongue. Jason took Tommy by the waist and coaxed him to the inviting bed. His bro was so caught up in his exploration, he scarcely realized that he had been shifted across the room. Not until his leg bumped the bed frame did he look up from his feast. He grinned wickedly and turned Jason's back to the bed and very gently laid him down—pressing his own hot skin to his lover's.

Tommy's hands rubbed down Jason's sides, to his hips, and back up to that beautifully sculpted chest. He moved himself onto the gold ranger, their bodies touching from chest to toes. His mouth sought out and found Jason's nipples and started licking and nipping at them—alternating left and right. His bro thrashed his head from side to side when the red ranger bit a little harder—Tommy was coming to find out that his baby liked things a bit on the rough side.

Jason's large hands took in all the naked flesh that they could reach—kneading and grasping the lean, muscular body of his lover. A light sheen of sweat was appearing on both men as their contact remained unbroken.

"Tommy, please—stop teasing me!" Jason panted. Tommy rolled one of the brown nubs between his teeth again and looked up to meet Jason's eyes.

"What do you need, Jase? Tell me what you want," he whispered and immediately resumed his assault on Jason's fully erect nipples.

Head pushed back into the pillow and hands grasping Tommy's shoulders he hissed, "Anything . . . please!"

With a grin of satisfaction from driving his partner wild without having done much, Tommy shifted his lower body a bit. With the aid of a hand, he brought their still-concealed but considerable erections in line with each other and he began rocking his body back and forth. Immediately, both men drew sharp breaths and began moving harder against each other. Suddenly, Tommy stopped.

Jason looked up at him surprised, but before he could ask, Tommy said, "These shorts have got to go. Take them off of me!"

Jason slid his hands under the waistband and started to push them down when he stopped. "Wait. Stand up a sec."

"Why? You can do it from here." Tommy didn't want to lose that closeness.

"Just humour me . . . please?"

Tommy looked at him questioningly, but finally pushed himself up on his hands and stood beside the bed. Jason got up and stood chest to chest with his gorgeous lover and slowly ran his fingers around inside the waistband of Tommy's shorts. He kissed him hotly and started pushing them down over the trim hips and down his thighs. He didn't just let them drop to the floor, however. He guided this last article of clothing off of his bro's body and then, from his crouched position, he grasped Tommy's thighs and started licking and kissing his way back up the long, lean body.

When he reached the hips, his hands clutched tight asscheeks and he licked over both of Tommy's hipbones and ventured a little ways toward the center where that rock hard erection was begging for attention. For the first time, Jason inhaled the musky scent of Tommy's arousal and it excited him like nothing had so far. He was still too timid to do what his inner voice screamed at him to do—take it as far in his mouth as he could manage—but he did rub his face across the silky smooth skin eliciting a groan from his partner. He continued working his way up that magnificent chest, lavishing abs and pecs with generous swipes of his hot, wet tongue. Tommy's fingernails were digging into his shoulders as the red ranger's body began to quiver.

"Oh damn, Jase . . . I love that tongue . . . please don't stop . . ." Tommy managed to utter.

Jason grinned around the erect brown nipple in his mouth—he moved to its twin and continued to bring shivers from his lover. He soon let go and covered the abandoned nub with his fingers as his mouth moved up the tanned neck.

Jason felt hands on his waist as his own shorts were being removed. Long, strong fingers pushed the fabric down from his hips and he heard his bro say, "My turn."

Tommy nearly copied Jason's technique with one important difference: When he reached Jason's hips, the sight of his lover's naked, smooth skin over his hipbones was too much for him to resist. He too could smell the scent of arousal and before he knew what he was doing, he latched onto him, biting and suckling at his warm skin. Jason clutched Tommy's shoulders harder and moaned deeply—the spot his lover was latched onto was very sensitive _and_ very close to his manhood.

The sound of that baritone groan served to excite the red ranger further and he stood abruptly, taking his lover in his strong arms. He kissed him savagely and ground his hips into Jason who thrust back into him just as strongly.

They fell onto the bed together with a slight bounce and Jason used his superior strength to ensure that he wound up on top. They continued to kiss each other breathless until the gold ranger pulled back a bit and reached over to his nightstand. He pulled out a long, white tube and flipped open the cap with his thumb.

"Give me your hand," he panted to Tommy.

Tommy obliged him and received a generous amount of lube in his palm. Jason put the tube down and lifted his body a bit to allow his bro to gain access to both of their bodies where he distributed the slick gel evenly. Then Jason aligned them just right and they began thrusting and grinding against each other, easily establishing a rhythm that each of them liked.

"Harder, Jase," Tommy gasped from underneath. His baby happily complied and pushed harder into his hips, twisting a bit as he did.

"Uhhh . .. yeah," came the breathless reply. After a few minutes of this, neither of them were reaching climax, in spite of it feeling so damn good.

Jason rolled off of Tommy and lay beside him, propped on one arm. He took a firm hold on his partner and began pumping slowly and steadily, all the while sucking and biting on Tommy's shoulder. Tommy moaned and thrashed his head on the pillow.

"Ja-Jase . . . uhh . . . uhhh . . .ohhh," he gasped, his body tightening and arching. "Almost . . . don't stop!"

Jason grasped tighter and gave Tommy hard, full-length strokes. Tommy's body contracted all at once and he came with a loud groan of Jason's name. His bro bit into his shoulder at the same time and stopped his strokes until Tommy's orgasm passed. Aftershocks made him shiver and moan again as Jason began gently pumping him again. He reluctantly let go as his erection diminished and his breathing slowed a bit.

"Ummm . . . damn. Incredible," Tommy managed to say between deep breaths.

Jason saw the small, cooling pool of Tommy's seed on his stomach and with a shaky finger, began rubbing small circles into Tommy's abs.

"A bit messy, huh?" Tommy said as he noticed what his bro was doing.

"A little, maybe, but not a problem," Jason answered and then Tommy watched in amazement as Jason lifted his finger to his lips and began licking it clean. Jason wasn't sure what made him do it, but the taste made his own still-throbbing erection strain even harder. He scooped up a little more and inserted his fingertip into his mouth and, after withdrawing it, kissed Tommy deeply entwining their tongues.

The red ranger caught a hint of the slightly salty taste of his own climax and he pulled his lover's tongue even deeper into his mouth. Jason finally broke the kiss off and whispered, "My turn."

Tommy ran his fingers through his bro's short hair and said, "Mmm-hmm." They exchanged places after taking long drinks from the water bottles Jason had brought up from the kitchen.

With his mouth still cold from the water, Tommy enveloped Jason's mouth in a long kiss, probing every recess with his cool tongue. The gold ranger allowed his love to do as he pleased—he relinquished all control to Tommy. For someone who was used to being in control of nearly everything in his life, this wasn't entirely easy—not at first, anyway. He would come to love being able to totally let go, relax, and let Tommy have his way with him—but in these early days it was still a new experience. He trusted Tommy and that was the most important thing. He always had trusted him, even after nearly being filleted by him while the then green ranger was under Rita's spell. Tommy had never quite gotten over that, in spite of Jason's repeated attempts to get him to let go of that part of his life.

But at present, the former foe was doing incredible things to Jason with his wonderful mouth. He drew circles around the gold ranger's nipples with his tongue and then nibbled and sucked until they couldn't get any harder. He traced Jason's washboard abs and then moved lower--kissing, licking, and nipping at every inch of him. His strong hands massaged his firm thighs and moved around to his butt, all the while kneading and caressing. Jason's eyes were fluttering closed when Tommy leaned in and started dancing circles around his navel with the tip of his tongue—then he delved in and wiggled around, causing his lover's eyes to snap open again. Tommy raised his eyes toward him and grinned, and then resumed his exploration of Jason's lower regions.

Tommy took a second to appreciate the sight: his handsome lover's magnificent body laid out before him; his hot, bronzed skin contrasting with the cool, beige sheets; the soft rise and fall of his chest which became faster and more laboured every time he caressed him. Fantasies of this had been occupying his mind for a while now—it was time to start turning those fantasies into reality.

The red ranger gently coaxed Jason's legs apart and he knelt between them, slowly pulling his large, warm hands down his bro's chest, across his abs, and skimming over his hips until he reached his thighs. There he began nuzzling and kissing his inner thighs, occasionally nipping him to keep him guessing. Jason could feel the feathery touch of Tommy's silky tresses on his thighs as Tommy would flip his hair from one side of his head to the other to gain access to his targeted area. Jason was being driven wild with anticipation as his love caressed every inch of his body between his waist and his knees _except_ . . . which was now hard enough to cut diamonds.

"Tommy, please! Touch me! You're making me crazy!" he groaned. Tommy gave Jason a mischievous grin that sent shivers down the gold ranger's spine.

"All in good time . . . just wait a minute more," he cooed. He lowered his head and began sucking and biting the baby smooth skin that stretched over Jason's right hipbone—that delicate area just above his thigh. He was going to make sure Jason knew he'd been there! He didn't bite hard enough to hurt, but his lover became curious as to what exactly he _was_ doing.

Picking his head up from the pillow, Jason watched for a moment and then asked, amused, "Are you marking me or something?"

"Mmm-hmm," came the answer without Tommy letting up on the pressure he was applying with his teeth.

Jason grinned and laid his head back down. "Okaaaay . . . I guess that'll do until we can get tattooed, huh?"

Tommy had other things on his mind, but the word 'tattoo' stuck for a second—he had always wanted one_—'As soon as I'm 18, but I'll think about it later.'_ He had more pressing things to take care of at the moment.

Satisfied that he had placed a good-sized mark on Jason's groin, he moved from between his thighs and stretched his long, naked body out and snuggled up to his bro. Tommy hovered over Jason and kissed him deeply as he reached for the item he needed on the nightstand. He prepared his hand and turned back to Jason, whose eyes were still closed.

"Are you ready?" he asked, knowing the answer.

"I-I've been ready . . . since you started," Jason said breathlessly.

Tommy wasted no time then and he went directly for his target, wrapping his slick fingers around Jason's sex and squeezing gently. He moved his fist slowly at first, coating the silk-wrapped steel shaft with lubricant from root to tip.

"Ahh . . . finally," Jason gasped when he felt tight fingers around him. "Mmmm," he moaned quietly.

Tommy quickly found the rhythm that Jason favoured and he gave him a thorough working over. Jason groaned in pleasure—his breathing more laboured, his chest rose and fell more quickly. His eyes fluttered and he ground his head into the pillow, gradually beginning to thrash back and forth. His trim hips bucked involuntarily again and again. All thought had long since dissolved from his mind—he floated on a cloud of exquisite sensation.

"Tommy . . . ahhh . . . god," he moaned. His back was arching and all his muscles tensing as he came closer to the pinnacle. Tommy tightened his grip and brought shivers from his lover's body. He could feel the tell-tale signs of Jason's orgasm beginning, and he watched eagerly as his lover's hips bucked harder and his entire body went rigid as he went over the edge with a deep, growling moan from deep inside.

'_Damn, he sounds like a wild animal,'_ Tommy thought--he was enjoying himself immensely.

Jason panted and loosened his grip on Tommy—he wore a blissful look on his face. Tommy nuzzled into his neck.

"I love to feel your hands on me," Jason whispered. "I think the only thing that would be better would be your mouth on me."

They were lying in each other's arms, talking to and caressing each other, feeling tired but on top of the world.

"Do you think we're ready for that?" Tommy asked. "That's a big step."

"I know," he thought for a moment. "Are _you_ ready?" he asked and gently kissed Tommy on the forehead.

"I don't know . . . maybe, but we've got lots of time. No need to rush things."

"True." Jason interrupted himself with a yawn. "Man, I'm tired—you?"

Tommy yawned back. "Yeah. What say we get some sleep?"

They settled down into a comfortable sleeping position: Tommy behind Jason with his head on Tommy's shoulder.

" 'Night, bro," Tommy said softly in Jason's ear. He placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

" Mmm . . . 'night."

Soon they were both fast asleep, worn out from the party and from their escapades of the evening.

_______________

After several hours, Jason sleepily opened his eyes and realized that Tommy's arm was still around him, even though they had shifted positions. He reached up and carefully brushed a few stray strands of hair from his love's face. Tommy turned his face and stirred a little at being touched, but didn't wake. The moonlight streaming through the windows provided enough light for Jason to see Tommy's face clearly. He had never realized how androgynous he looked while sleeping: long, curled, black eyelashes; full, soft, pink lips; high cheekbones; and that gorgeous silky mane of hair.

'_Naked and all snuggled up to me—he's just . . . unbelievable—_and_ he's mine.' _Jason smiled broadly at that thought and stroked Tommy's hair. _'I've waited so long for this--I never thought it would actually happen. But this is our first night together and I'm gonna make sure it's memorable.'_

He slowly pulled the covers back and slid down a little further in the bed so that his face was even with Tommy's chest. He didn't touch him with his hands right away, but instead nuzzled his warm skin and placed dozens of small, gentle kisses all over his bro's chest and abdomen. Tommy stretched and shifted a bit, but still didn't wake.

'_Wow, he's a heavy sleeper.'_

The gold ranger turned up the intensity when he began licking and kissing Tommy's nipples and caressing his stomach with his free hand. Jason heard Tommy take in a quick breath as he finally started to wake. He looked up to see sleepy, chocolate brown eyes looking down at him. Tommy yawned, reached down and ran his fingers through Jason's thick hair.

"Are you taking advantage of me?" he said and smiled warmly.

Jason gave him a mischievous grin. "Mmm-hmmm. You mind?"

"No, not at all. Be my guest," Tommy said as he laid his arms back over his head. "I'm all yours."

"Mmmm . . . I like the sound of that." Jason went back to licking and caressing while Tommy laid there enjoying himself. Just when the red ranger was really getting into his bro's version of a tongue-lashing and becoming seriously aroused, the gold ranger suddenly stopped and got up from the bed.

Tommy groaned in disappointment. "Why'd you stop? You were about to make my toes curl!" he grinned as he watched Jason's naked body move halfway across the room to his desk. He had no idea what he was in for.

Jason reached under his jacket and retrieved the item he had brought up from the kitchen hours earlier. It had now reached room temperature which was a good thing—for Tommy. He walked back over to the bed with it secreted behind his back. Even though it was dim in the room, he didn't want to take the chance of his lover seeing it until it was time.

When he reached the bed, he hid his toy under the blankets at the foot of the bed and looked up to lock eyes with Tommy who had a seriously inquisitive look on his face. Without breaking their gaze, Jason grabbed hold of the sheets that half covered Tommy's naked body and stripped them off him completely. Then he gave his love a look that caused a tingle to shoot directly down his spine ending in his crotch. Jason put one knee on the bed and began slowly crawling up Tommy's body like a predator stalking his prey. He never diverted his eyes—only licked his lips in anticipation of what he was about to do to this willing, warm body underneath him. He gave a low growl that sent another jolt of electricity through the red ranger's body.

As he reached Tommy's mouth he kissed him hard, almost savagely, probing deep into his mouth with his demanding tongue. Tommy almost resisted at first, being caught off guard by the intensity of the kiss, but he soon relaxed and let Jason do as he pleased. He moaned deeply into the gold ranger's mouth and was rewarded with another low growl from his baby who was threatening to eat him alive.

'_He's like a prowling tiger . . .'_

When the need for oxygen won out, his attacker turned his attention to Tommy's neck. The point at which his neck met his strong shoulders was Jason's target and he bit and sucked until Tommy was sure he was bruised all good and proper. It was then that he heard that low, almost evil laugh—he knew it came from Jason, but what was he doing?! Tommy strained his eyes to see in the dim light—his bro had once again pulled away and was grabbing at something at the foot of the bed.

'_What the hell is he up to?'_

Jason at last spoke in a deep, husky voice. "Close your eyes," came the demand. ". . . and keep them closed."

Tommy did as he was told, mentally preparing himself for whatever it was that his lover had up his nonexistent sleeve. He felt something . . . drip, yeah that was the right word, onto his stomach. It wasn't cold—just cool—and it seemed to warm pretty quickly against his skin. Then he felt Jason's hot tongue lick it off and heard a little "Mmmm" come from his direction. Again, 'drip, drip, drip' . . . onto his chest this time. And again, he felt a wet tongue lick and suck whatever it was off of him. Over and over again this went on—all up and down his chest.

'Drip, drip, drip'—this time it was on his right nipple. He could feel it start to run down his side—but before it got too far, that maddening tongue was there to lap it up. It took all of his restraint to keep his eyes closed. That same tongue drew circles around Tommy's nipple and made little figure 8s before he felt a hot mouth clamp down on him, driving him wild while biting and suckling. The same was done to the left side and Tommy was almost at the end of his endurance.

"Jaasssee . . . what are you doing to me?" he hissed breathlessly. There was that evil little laugh again.

"Mmmm . . . you taste so good," he groaned in a lusty voice.

Tommy's mouth was enveloped again, but not as intensely this time. With the wits he had left, the red ranger was trying to analyze that taste. Finally, it hit him—_'Chocolate! Chocolate syrup!' _He pulled away from Jason's captivating mouth and looked him in the grinning eyes.

"Midnight snack?" Tommy asked, amused.

"Hey, I like chocolate . . . want some?" he grinned again and swiped a syrup-covered finger across Tommy's lips.

Tommy turned the tables on him now. He licked his lips slowly and moved toward Jason's face like he was going to kiss him, but instead grasped his hand and started to lick his sticky finger clean. Then he motioned for the syrup bottle and squeezed a few drops onto Jason's index finger, letting it drizzle down until it almost reached his hand. What he did next nearly blew the gold ranger's mind.

He licked gingerly at first and then he curled his tongue around the sticky finger and drew it into his mouth. He began to suck, drawing it further and further into his hot, wet mouth, massaging the underside with his tongue. He pulled back, leaving only the tip between his lips, flicking his tongue across it over and over and then took the whole length into his mouth at once looking squarely into his lover's eyes as he did it. Jason's eyes widened and his already hard cock twitched, wanting the same attention that the finger was getting.

Tommy backed off and licked his lips with a moaning "Mmmm". Then he pulled his bro into a hard kiss of his own making. Jason moaned and grasped at any part of Tommy he could reach as his powerful lover pushed him onto his back and took control.

Grabbing the bottle, he drew a line from the base of Jason's neck down to just above his insistent manhood. Tommy gave him quite the mischievous grin and slowly began licking up the sweet stuff with wide swathes of his dripping wet tongue.

"Mmmm," he murmured several times.

Jason was grasping the bed with one hand and his lover with the other. When he reached the gold ranger's neck, Tommy paid special attention to the little hollow at the base. He formed a small pool with the syrup and then took his sweet time sucking and licking it clean. Every now and then, he would raise up and lick just the corners of Jason's mouth. Jason didn't know why that made him so crazy, but every time he did it, jolts of electricity shot through him.

Tommy didn't neglect one of his lover's favourite spots, either. He dripped the thick, sweet liquid onto one nipple and then the other, thoroughly coating them and then sucking them clean. When he was finished, Jason just couldn't stand any more. His hand starting moving southward—if Tommy wasn't going to touch him there then he'd do it himself!

"Ah, no. Can't let you do that . . ." Tommy whispered in his ear as he stopped Jason's hand.

"Then _you_ do it! I can't take anymore!" Jason hissed.

The corners of Tommy's mouth curled up in a self-satisfied grin. "Okay, okay, but I have an idea. Since we're both, umm . . . sticky, why don't we take a shower together? It's almost morning anyway," he said with a quick glance at the clock.

Jason opened his eyes and looked at Tommy. "Sure, let's go!" Then he thought for a minute. "What if Mom catches us?"

"Tell her we were trying to help her save on her water bill," he laughed, but Jason looked really concerned. "They're still asleep, Jase—and your room is over the garage—they won't hear."

"I hope you're right." He was still a little tentative, but the insistent part of his anatomy urged him on. He got up and grabbed his lover's hand. "Let's go . . ."

Since Jason's bathroom was part of an addition, it was smaller than average, with only a walk-in shower stall instead of a tub. Men only take showers anyway, right? At least that was Stephen Scott's thoughts on the matter when he built it.

Jason turned on the water and grabbed a couple of towels from the cabinet. He opened the door, stepped in and tried to make room for Tommy. The red ranger closed the door behind him and they shifted around until both were under the showerhead.

"Hmmm . . . cozy," Tommy said as he slipped his hands around his baby's waist.

"Yeah, well . . . it really wasn't built for two, ya know!" Jason shot back, caressing Tommy's shoulders.

After getting thoroughly wet, they found particular pleasure in massaging the suds onto each other—taking a bit longer in certain areas. They rubbed their bodies against each other, the soap providing enough lubrication to add even more enjoyment to the experience.

Jason turned Tommy around and massaged more of the lightly scented bubbles onto his muscular back. In these close quarters, he couldn't help but rub himself against his lover's body and Tommy jumped when he felt Jason against his ass.

"Whoa, easy. I'm not trying anything," his bro said and put his hands on Tommy's waist to steady him. "It's just so tight in here."

Tommy laughed suddenly and Jason joined him when he realized what he'd said.

"It better be tight—I'm a virgin in that respect!" Tommy joked. He turned to face his lover who was slightly red in the cheeks. He took Jason's face in his hands and kissed him softly. He giggled again. "You're an idiot—but you're _my_ idiot!"

Jason laughed and turned him back around. "If I'd wanted to violate you, I'd have done it more like _this_," and with that he pressed Tommy into the shower wall and began rubbing and grinding his hips into the red ranger's backside.

'_Oh damn, that feels good!'_ What had started as a joke was now becoming a genuinely erotic experience! Tommy had tensed at first, but had finally relaxed and he seemed to be enjoying getting as much as Jason was enjoying giving. Both men moaned with pleasure.

Jason pressed his chest into Tommy's back and held his hips to keep him right where he wanted him. He began to fantasize about the first time he would take his lover like this and really make love to him—not just rub his soapy body against him.

Tommy, for his part, was loving the sensation and what it was doing to Jason, but he wasn't sure how he felt about being . . . _done_ like this. He didn't feel used or anything—nothing that serious. It was just that he was used to being the aggressor and this role reversal was going to take some getting used to.

The images in Jason's mind, coupled with the exquisite sensation of his slick cock rubbing rhythmically against Tommy's tight ass proved to be enough to bring Jason to the very edge of orgasm. His breathing became laboured and his moans became deeper as his climax grew more imminent. He clutched his lover's sides harder as he bucked his hips again and again. His baby laid his head back a little allowing Jason better access to his neck and he buried his face there just as his orgasm hit. His body shivered and his breath caught in his throat.

It took him several moments to regain his composure. "Mmm . . . that was . . . wow." He turned Tommy around and they held each other close. "It'll be even better with me inside you," he whispered in his love's ear.

"Mmm-hmmm," Tommy cooed back. He lightly ran his short nails up and down Jason's back. "How 'bout me inside you?"

"Oh yeah, definitely," Jason responded, still recovering. He then felt his bro's own insistent arousal rub against his thigh. "Can't leave you unfinished, now can we?" he said as he reached down and took hold of him. He began to stroke him, but soon realized he needed something in the way of lubrication. "Hand me the soap," he said in Tommy's ear.

Making sure his hand was good and slick, he again took hold of Tommy's sex and began to stroke him rhythmically. Tommy held onto Jason's shoulders and enjoyed his bro's new-found talent. It didn't take very long to bring him to the verge—he threw his head back as his body tensed and his hips bucked harder. His fingers dug into his lover when he could contain himself no longer and he tumbled over the edge with a load moan that was, thankfully, drowned out by the running water.

He went nearly limp into Jason's strong embrace—the gold ranger stroking his long, wet hair and placing soft kisses on his cheek. "You okay?" he asked softly.

Tommy kept his eyes closed but smiled sweetly. "Yeah." He straightened and kissed his lover gently. "We'd better finish up and get out—there won't be any hot water for the rest of the day!" He winked at Jason and quickly washed his hair, making sure to get all of the syrup out of it . . .

Back in the bedroom, they finished drying themselves off and then they crawled back into bed. They snuggled up to each other under the covers, warming their still-moist skin. They both drifted off to sleep just as the first rays of daylight shone through the windows.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

_________________

_Author's Notes: Now, I actually toned down the sex scenes some from the way I originally wrote them. Are they still too much? Not enough? Let me know. Don't forget to review! I still really appreciate anyone taking the time to tell me what they think. Next chapter: A nice weekend turns nearly tragic, leading to the rest of the team finding out. Until then . . . _


	19. Tommy's Troubled Past

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** As always, thanks so much for all the great reviews! Glad to see some new names showing up! I appreciate the advice on the steamier scenes—apparently, it's okay if I ramp them up a bit! Your wish is my command . . . but not in this chapter.

**Chapter 19—Tommy's Troubled Past**

Saturday had gone by rather quickly. After the boys finally crawled out of bed, they decided to spend the day catching up on schoolwork. However, they both knew that nothing having to do with school would get done if they stayed at Jason's or Tommy's house, so they opted instead for the library, lest they be tempted. Still, it wasn't easy keeping their hands off of each other, even in the public library. Once they got their minds on the books though, they actually managed to make some headway.

Early in the afternoon, they decided to take a break and head to the Youth Center for lunch. Tommy thanked Ernie again for letting the guys hold his party there. No sooner had they finished their turkey sandwiches than their wrist communicators went off.

"I knew things had been too quiet," Tommy assessed just before they transported to the Power Chamber.

The alert turned out to be really nothing more than a dozen or so cogs up to no good—piece of cake. Back at the Youth Center, the rangers decided that something was strange about the whole thing.

"Seemed more like a diversion than anything else," Adam said to the assembled group.

"Yeah. Did they really seem to be looking for anything?" Rocky asked.

They all decided that no, they didn't seem to have much of a purpose and Tommy told them to stay on their toes—something wasn't right.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, until the obligatory fight between Tommy and his mom when he went home to collect more clothes for the weekend. Tommy was fuming by the time they left for Jason's house—having just endured another browbeating from his mother.

He sat in the passenger seat of Jason's Mustang and muttered to himself. Jason looked over at him, wishing there was something he could say or do to make things better for Tommy. Mrs. Oliver had said some pretty harsh things and Jason overheard it all.

Suddenly, Tommy turned toward him, his eyes filled with anger and hurt. "Jase, I . . . I don't know how much more of that I can take. We _have_ to graduate this Spring so that I can go to college in the Fall. I _have_ to get out of that damn house!"

"We will, man—don't worry. And if, god forbid, something should happen and one or both us doesn't make it, we'll still do _something_. Maybe I could talk to Mom—I mean, we have a guest room that no one ever uses."

"I don't want to impose, bro. Your folks like me and I'd like to keep it that way. Besides, David will take me in; he's already told me that. The problem would be getting to school." He sighed loudly and sank lower in the seat.

"We'll figure something out, I promise. But tell me something—why doesn't your dad ever step in and say something—rein that woman in a bit!"

Tommy chuckled. There was no 'reining in' Margaret Oliver. "Oh, that's easy. The one with the legal degree wears the pants in my family—he's scared of her."

"Really? You're kidding!" Jason tried not to sound too amazed.

"Seriously. She'd kick him to the curb in a heartbeat and he knows it."

"I always thought they had a great marriage."

"Hmpf. Yeah—just smoke and mirrors, pal. All in the name of putting up a good front for the neighbours."

Jason's eyes were getting wider—he checked to make sure his mouth wasn't hanging open. "I never knew . . ."

"That's the goal," Tommy said, staring straight ahead.

"But why would he let her treat him like that?"

Tommy thought for a minute and took a deep breath—if he couldn't trust Jason then he couldn't trust anyone. "Pull into the park—we need to talk."

Jason was seriously caught off guard by Tommy's request, but judging by his lover's cracking voice, Tommy needed to unburden himself and, by god, he was going to help him anyway he could.

"Sure, bro. No problem."

Tommy didn't say another word while they drove the mile or so to the park. Even after they had parked, he just sat there staring through the windshield for several long minutes. Finally, Jason reached over and put a loving hand on his shoulder.

To his surprise, Tommy jumped out of the car and started walking very quickly towards the pond, nearly getting away from Jason who had to jog to try to catch up.

As quickly as he started, he stopped--hands in pockets, staring into the sky with his back to Jason. When the gold ranger reached him, he placed his hand on Tommy's arm and tried to turn him so that he could look at his face. At first, he wouldn't face Jason, but when those chocolate eyes did meet Jason's they were filled to overflowing with tears that Tommy just couldn't hold back any longer.

"Tom?" Jason was taken aback. _'What's goin' on with him?'_ "What is it? Tell me." He put his arms around Tommy's waist and rubbed his back. Tommy let himself be held for a moment, but then he pulled back.

"Jason?" he said, his pain-filled voice barely a whisper. "I can trust you, right?"

"Of course you can, Tommy. I'm your best friend . . . your brother."

Tommy tried to take a deep breath, but it caught in his throat. "Jase, you have no idea what I've had to deal with from them." He hung his head and tried not to start crying again.

Jason took Tommy by the arm and moved them over to the nearest picnic table. "Tell me—as much or as little as you want. I'm a good listener, ya know."

"Well, I think they only adopted me as an effort to save their marriage, because they sure didn't act like they did it for me. I think I was about 6 or 7 when things got bad." He took another deep breath. "My dad used to drink—a lot. Who am I kidding? He was a fuckin' drunk—and a mean drunk, too. He would get ticked off at work or at Mom and he'd start drinking. I tried to stay out of his way, but he'd always start something with me. At first, he'd just cuff me 'round the head or push me around—I was a scrawny little kid—what was I supposed to do? When I got a little older, he got worse—he would hit me and dare me to cry and then when I did, he'd hit me harder. Why do you think I lived and breathed martial arts before I moved here? My escape—and sometimes my defence—from my own fuckin' father, Jase!"

Jason just sat and listened. He slowly shook his head in disbelief.

"But when I started fighting back, he went ballistic. I know everyone makes fun of me for my faulty memory, but did you ever wonder _why_ my memory is so bad?" He stopped and looked at Jason who was barely containing his anger.

"Why?" he managed to ask in an even tone.

"Because when I was 10, my dad started a fight with me one night when he was drunk and I got in a lucky punch." He paused and drew a shaky breath. "He threw me down the stairs, Jase!" he choked on those words. The tears started streaming again and he made no attempt to stop them.

"What?!" Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I was in the hospital for a week—serious head injury, three broken ribs, and a broken arm." All of this pent-up pain was flowing out of him and he was glad to finally have someone to tell.

"Oh my god. And he wasn't arrested? Why didn't someone do something?"

"Mom's a lawyer, remember? She made up a good story and they bought it."

"Why didn't you tell someone?"

"Who was I gonna tell, Jase? I had no other family. Besides, I was scared. Hell, I was only 10!"

"Okay then, why did your mom cover up for him? Surely she could have stopped him!"

"I don't know—that's a good question. I think she was afraid that Child Protective Services would get involved and it would seriously damage her reputation. She did lay down the law to him about drinking, though. He got some better, but couldn't quit altogether. He'd clean himself up for a while, but it never lasted long. I just tried to stay away from him.

Once I was 12 or 13, I just started ducking out of the house when he'd get like that. The few friends I had made a habit out of running away—they came from bad homes, too. I'd stay at a friend's house, or sometimes just wander the streets when I left. I stopped doing that so much when I got one of the worst beatings of my life for running away. He stopped short of putting me in the hospital again, but I didn't leave my room for 3 days."

Jason sat in stunned silence—he had been friends with Tommy for a few years now—why didn't he know any of this before? And how could Tommy be the person he is after enduring all of that?

Tommy continued, "By the time I got to be about 14, I wasn't afraid of him anymore. My sensei knew, or at least I think he did, that I was being abused. He sort of took me under his wing and taught me extra stuff. After I had been a black belt for a while, I let dear ol' dad know in no uncertain terms that I would kick his ass—father or no father! He left me alone after that, but we've never been close. I don't feel like I've ever really had a dad. You're lucky."

Jason thought about his own father—true, he was difficult at times and pretty demanding—he had always taught Jason that it was important to "be a man" as he put it, but deep down he was a good man and a good parent. He was always there when his family needed him.

"So, you made him back off, huh? Good for you." He paused. "I'm so sorry that you've had to live through shit like that. I had no idea."

"Yeah, beatings from my dad and verbal abuse from my mom. And this from two people who told me that they chose me to love when they told me that I was adopted. Fuck that! I'd have been better off in a damn orphanage!" The tears started again.

Jason took several deep breaths and tried to think. He couldn't possibly relate to what his best friend was telling him—he'd been treated like a prince, comparatively.

'_God, what do you say to that?'_

The only thing he knew to do was hold him tight and try to make him feel safe and loved—which is exactly what he needed. Tommy eventually calmed down and relaxed a bit. He sat up and wiped his face.

"You know what keeps going through my mind? What has gone through my mind since I found out what happened to my birth parents?"

"What's that?"

"How my life would have been different if that stupid, damn car accident hadn't happened! I would have had my real parents and my brother . . . and a huge family to be loved by! Why is life so unfair, Jase? Why?"

Jason shook his head. "I don't know, bro. I just don't know."

They sat quietly for several minutes until Jason finally broke the silence. "I'm so glad your family moved to Angel Grove, though—otherwise, I never would have met you. Why did they decide to move here, anyway?"

"I'm glad too—why did we move or why did we move here?"

"Either—both."

"We moved here because Mom got a job here. Ummm . . . the reason we moved at all . . . hmmm." He looked away and drew in a deep breath. "Promise you won't think less of me if I tell you?"

"Huh? Of course I won't—no matter what. I love you Tommy, remember?"

He paused for a minute. He had admitted this to very few people before, but if he couldn't trust Jason, who could he trust? He cleared his throat.

"I, uh . . . tried to kill myself . . . twice," Tommy said shakily and hung his head, ashamed.

"You what?! You're not serious!"

"Afraid so. I just couldn't take it anymore, so I swallowed a fist full of pills the first time and . . ." he sighed. ". . . I slit my wrists the second time. I was committed to the Psych ward for a little while after that. My parents thought that we all needed a fresh start, so we moved. Please don't tell the guys, okay?"

Jason stood and grabbed him up into a tight embrace. "I won't, but Tommy—_please_ promise me you won't try anything like that again. Ever."

Tommy hugged him back. "I won't—I promise. That horrible chapter is behind me. Moving here and meeting all you guys has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. And then finally finding David and my real family! I have no desire to end it all anymore."

"Good. I'm here for you, Tommy—no matter what."

Jason let go of him and reached down for Tommy's hand. He looked him in the eyes as he raised it up, wanting to see for himself. Glancing down, he examined Tommy's right wrist. He thought he saw a thin, white line that might have been a scar—he wasn't sure. He looked up into his bro's face, questioningly.

"Yeah, that's it. Here's the other one," he said and showed him the almost identical scar on his left wrist. They really weren't that noticeable unless you knew what you were looking for. Jason rubbed over them with his thumbs and shook his head.

"Is anything ever that bad?"

Tommy sighed. "Yeah bro . . . it is."

"Why haven't you told me any of this before? We've been close for a long time now. I could have . . ."

Tommy cut him off. "You couldn't have done anything." He stopped and sighed deeply. "Look, when I moved here, I just wanted to try and put things behind me. When I met you and the other guys, I just wanted to fit in and be accepted. I was tired of being alone. And you have to admit, you guys are the epitome of well-adjusted, happy suburbanites!" A grin crossed his face but left just as quickly. "I didn't want to tell you all the crap I'd lived with, still live with—I didn't want to seem . . . _damaged_ to you guys."

"You wouldn't have. We wouldn't have treated you any differently," Jason responded.

"Yeah, right. You don't really believe that. I know what it would have been like . . . I don't want anybody's pity."

Jason looked at him for a minute. He wondered if he could've dealt with everything that Tommy had—what he would have done if faced with the same situation. He pulled Tommy close once again and just held him. He couldn't begin to understand what his friend had been through—he just wanted to make sure that things went better for him.

"Thank you for being there for me, Jase. I don't know what I would do without you. You're the most important person in my life—you know that?"

"Yeah, and you're the most important person in _my_ life, Tommy. I wish I'd never gone to Switzerland and left you here. I'm so sorry for that."

"Jase, it's okay. Both of us did some growing up while you were gone."

"Maybe, but I can't help but feel like we wasted a lot of time."

Tommy looked deep into Jason's eyes. "Would you have been ready to tell me how you felt then?"

Jason thought momentarily. "No, probably not."

"And I know that I wasn't ready because I didn't really understand the feelings I was having. So really, we didn't waste all that much time because neither of us were ready until recently, right?" Tommy reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess so, but I'm glad we decided to talk things out when we did."

"Me too," Tommy said as he softly kissed Jason. "Let's go to your house, okay?"

"Okay, but there's something I want to tell you first." Jason placed his hands on Tommy's shoulders.

"Tommy, I promise you that I'm going to take care of you from now on. No one, not even your parents, is going to hurt you anymore. You deserve better than what you've gotten in life and I'm going to try my best to see that you get it." He pulled his love into a firm embrace. He knew that he was practically a kid himself, but he felt extremely protective over his friends—especially friends that needed him. He decided right then and there that he was going to make Tommy's life better, however he could.

A part of Tommy balked at being 'taken care of'. He had always had to pretty much take care of himself and if he was going to call himself a man, he had to stand on his own, right? But then, up until meeting Jason and the rest of the gang, he had been somewhat of a loner. His life had been so much happier since then. Maybe it was okay to lean on someone else a bit—to accept some TLC. Lord knows, he had never had much of that.

"You believe me, don't you?" Jason asked.

"Yeah . . . of course I do," Tommy answered softly and nuzzled Jason's neck.

After a couple of minutes, Jason finally said, "Let's go home."

________________

The boys had decided that Sunday was the day to reveal their relationship to the rest of their friends. They really hoped that things would go as well with Kat, Tanya, and Billy as they had with Adam, Rocky, and David. Tommy suspected, however, that it was probably wishful thinking. Something told him that things had been going too well—it was like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Jason wouldn't say so, of course, but he didn't particularly care how Kat took the news, as long as she knew. He was extremely tired of her flirting with Tommy and then giving him those damn looks. Actually, he couldn't wait to see her face when it sunk in that Tommy wanted _him_, not her. He smiled inwardly at the thought of her watching him and Tommy make out. Jason was getting vindictive in his old age.

Plans were made for the whole gang to meet up at the Youth Center after lunchtime and Tommy planned to suggest that they go either to the park or even to the Power Chamber to talk. If there was going to be a scene, and in this case there just might, he didn't want it to play out in full view of people they knew and went to school with.

1:30 rolled around and a nervous Tommy and Jason sat in the car outside the Youth Center.

"Well, you ready to get this over with?" Jason asked.

"Yes, definitely. Whether or not I'm looking forward to it is another matter entirely."

They had no sooner walked in the door and sat down with their friends when their communicators went off. Best laid plans and all that . . .

"Go ahead Zordon."

RANGERS, PRINCE GASKET HAS SENT TWO MONSTERS AND A SQUAD OF COGS TO THE BUSINESS DISTRICT. PLEASE ENGAGE THEM CAREFULLY—OUR READINGS SHOW THAT THESE MONSTERS ARE VERY POWERFUL.

"Will do, Tommy out."

They proceeded to morph and transport downtown to engage the latest threat from the Machine Empire. The battle was going pretty well for the rangers—most of the cogs had been destroyed, but the two big minions were giving them some problems. Tommy had taken a particularly hard hit to the chest and was down on one knee, thoroughly winded and bent over. He didn't see the lizard-like monster levelling a power sword at him . . . but Jason did. He yelled at him to look out, but Tommy wasn't reacting fast enough, so Jason jumped in between the sword and his bro and took the blast for him—point blank to the chest. Tommy looked up in horror as Jason, screaming in pain, was surrounded by orangish-red energy and then he collapsed to the ground in a forced demorph.

"Jason!" Tommy screamed as he ripped off his own helmet and bent over the writhing body of the gold ranger. His eyes were closed and his teeth were clenched as he grabbed onto the body he knew to be Tommy's.

Tommy could feel the aftershocks of the blast all around them like an aura of electricity. He knew Jason had to be in excruciating pain.

"Hold on, bro—I've got you!" he said quickly as he pulled Jason up and draped his body over his own. "Grab onto me!"

The injured gold ranger painfully lifted his arms and clung to Tommy's shoulders who encircled his bro's waist and pressed his communicator, transporting them to the Power Chamber.

Adam and Rocky had been keeping the grotesque thing busy while Tommy performed the rescue operation. They went at it full force with flying sidekicks, hitting the monster simultaneously, throwing it back several yards.

Kat and Tanya had their hands full with the other monstrosity who seemed intent on decapitating them with the large battleaxe it wielded.

The battle raged on, despite the rangers being down two men. Luckily, there were no civilians in the immediate area, it being Sunday. At the Power Chamber, Jason and Tommy had transported straight to the medical bay where Alpha was waiting to help with Jason. Tommy lifted him onto the examining table where he thrashed about—still in a lot of pain. Tommy managed to get his shirt off of him and he cringed when he saw the burning red colour of his bro's chest. Alpha connected several electrodes to the gold ranger's head, chest, and limbs to begin taking readings. In addition, he passed a hand-held scanner over his patient.

"Jason, bro—I know it hurts, but please try to be as still as you can so that Alpha can help you," Tommy said in a soothing voice. The worry and anguish showed clearly on his face.

Alpha was finally able to give Jason an injection, thanks to Tommy holding his arm still. His tense, pain-filled body began to relax just a bit. The red ranger described the weapon and the energy aura that had enveloped the gold ranger causing the forced demorph. Alpha shook his head worriedly. Forceful demorphs like that can cause nerve damage—add to that the energy blast and Jason could be seriously injured—there could be damage to his nerves, heart, or even his brain.

However, the scans showed that, although his heart rate and blood pressure were elevated due to the pain, there appeared, at this time, to be no significant injuries. More tests would have to done, though. It was really too early to tell. Tommy was informed of most of this and since his bro appeared to be in no immediate danger, he pressed a kiss to Jason's lips and with a soft word or two, left him in Alpha's hands and returned to the fight. His team needed him.

Gasket had sent down another squad of cogs to give the four remaining rangers as much grief as possible and they were barely keeping their heads above water. They _had_ managed to mangle one of the monsters and Gasket had transported it out of there before they could completely destroy it. The other, however, was still going strong and it was the first thing Tommy saw when he completely materialized. It was the same one that had winded him and wounded Jason.

"You! You son of a bitch! You're mine!" He declared in a rough, harsh tone, pointing at the offending beast.

"Bring it on, _boy_," the minion yelled in return. Tommy intended to do just that. He went at him with a vengeance, blasters firing from both hands, knocking the thing back and dazing it.

The shots only caused minimal injuries to the monster's thick hide, but they did serve to sap some of its energy. The ranger commander took full advantage. He landed several hard blows to its head and a devastating kick to its midsection. Momentarily staggered, it dropped down to collect itself. Tommy was about to attack again when he found that the monster was down but not out—it reached out with its scaly arm and swept Tommy aside violently, causing him to lose his footing.

Kat, Tanya, Rocky, and Adam had been swarmed by cogs. Gasket no doubt thought that if they could be kept busy, the mutant lizard could finish off the red ranger. It was not to be. Adam had just destroyed the cog he was fighting with a well-timed spin kick to the robot's chest and out of the corner of his eye he saw Tommy go down. Pulling his blaster from its holster, Mr. Johnny-on-the-spot distracted the beast long enough for his commander to right himself and draw his sword.

With a primal cry, red Zeo ranger 5 launched himself at his enemy, switching into another gear that the other rangers didn't have and had never seen. Tommy drove his sword into the monstrosity's chest, twisting it as he pulled it out. The lizard monster dropped to its knees and Tommy again swung his sword, relieving him of an arm. A loud groan went up and he tumbled forward, catching himself with his remaining arm, clearly unable to fight anymore. The red ranger raised his weapon above his head with both hands and stood like a samurai, ready to decapitate his fallen victim.

Billy, who had been watching from the Power Chamber, quickly rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He looked again. No, it was there. There was a slight but distinct green glow emanating from the ranger commander. Most of the other rangers, who had finished dismantling their foes, saw it too. Or thought they had—no one was sure.

Rocky and Adam, who were standing nearest Tommy, could see one thing for sure—he had no intention of leaving this one unfinished. His voice was deep and full of venom when he spoke.

"Die, you freak!" and he brought his sword down hard, slicing the monster's head off with one blow. The decapitated form fell over into a lump on the ground at Tommy's feet and he stood there for a moment, looking down at it with a look of sheer loathing. Then he raised his sword one more time and drove it deep into the thing's back. Thick green ooze, presumably the mutant's blood, clung to his sword and dripped from his red uniform. Tommy stood there panting and then he kicked the dead body one last time for good measure.

Adam and Rocky just looked at each other. The green Zeo ranger stepped forward and took his leader by the shoulders.

"Tommy, it's dead. Come on."

Tommy didn't speak. He just sheathed his sword and pressed his communicator taking himself back to the Power Chamber—and Jason. A questioning look passed through the team and then they followed their leader silently.

When they arrived, Tommy was nowhere to be seen. Billy told them that he was in with Jason, so they all proceeded through the electric doors to the nearby med bay. Tommy was standing there demorphed beside Jason's bed holding his hand and staring at the monitors. The gold ranger appeared to be sleeping. The rest of the team gathered around Jason and someone asked Alpha about his condition. Tommy wasn't speaking—he was just stroking Jason's hair and watching the readouts on the multiple screens above the head of the bed.

"Rangers, I believe that Jason will be okay. I don't think he has sustained a permanent injury from the battle. He did receive a powerful shock from that monster's weapon. So powerful, in fact, that without the protection of the power and the ranger armour, I feel certain that he wouldn't have survived. It would surely have stopped his heart," Alpha informed them.

Tommy winced and then reached down and stroked Jason's shoulder—he stared at the large burning red mark in the center of his chest. He was so . . . still.

'_Why did you have to do that, baby? Why?'_

He knew the answer Jason would give him and yes, he would have done the same thing.

'_Please be okay. Please.'_

As if reading his mind, Tommy's 2nd in command moved over and gently rubbed his commander's back. He understood better than most.

"He's gonna be alright, Tommy. Try not to worry. You can see by the monitors that he's just resting."

"And rest is what he needs. He'll recover quickly--he's strong," Alpha said and left the med bay to watch over things so Billy could come in and visit his old friend.

Upon entering, he first glanced down at Jason's still form and then quickly looked up at the monitors. Then he turned his gaze to the red ranger. He couldn't get the picture out of his head—the red Zeo ranger encased in a green aura with a sword held high over his head--the implications of which made his mind go into overdrive and caused a knot in his stomach. But the sight of Tommy's distraught, silent face looking helplessly at Jason was enough to push all that aside for now.

Several minutes later, Jason started waking up, groaning and thrashing around. The pain hadn't subsided much in the time he was unconscious—it was still intense.

"Billy, do something," Tommy begged. It was the first words he'd spoken since leaving the battlefield.

"Try to calm him down—I'll give him another injection," Billy directed as he went to the supply cabinet.

Tanya and Kat happened to be standing near the head of the bed on one side and they began talking to the gold ranger and stroking his arm and shoulder in an attempt to calm him. He paid them no notice. Tommy, on the other side of the bed, took his bro's face in his large hands and spoke soothingly to him.

"Jase, look at me. Look at me, bro. You're going to be fine, okay? Try to calm down. You need to rest."

Jason had his teeth and fists clenched tight—he couldn't relax—the pain was still so severe.

"I . . . can't . . . hurts," he managed to gasp out. He curled up into a fetal position and his breathing grew faster and faster. He groaned in agony. Alpha, who had come back into the med bay, said that the residual effects of the shock were causing Jason to feel as though his nerve endings were on fire.

Rocky was watching with sympathy. Jason was strong and brave—the pain must be bad to make him react this way. He shot a look at Adam who closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.

"Billy, please hurry!" Tommy turned and said in a desperate voice. The former blue ranger was preparing the needle as quickly as he could—he was no doctor.

"Make sure you give him enough, Billy. Remember, Jason's a horse!" Rocky added.

When he had it ready, Billy came over and asked Tommy to hold the gold ranger's arm still and he gave him the injection as rapidly as possible.

Jason whimpered and stayed curled up—he couldn't relax no matter how he tried. His arms and legs were shaking, he felt as though his spine was trying to tie itself in a knot.

"The medicine will work in a second, bro. Be calm, okay? Try to relax," Tommy said sweetly, hoping it would help.

Jason looked up at him with big, misty eyes and tried to say, "My whole body hurts—please help me." Not all of the words came out, but his love understood.

Tommy gently stroked Jason's hair and cupped his cheek in his hand. "The pain medicine will work—you're going to be okay baby—please try to calm down. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'm right here."

He could think of nothing else to say, so he did the only thing that he thought might work—he leaned in and kissed him gently several times. He continued to caress his cheek and stroke his hair. Finally, the combination of TLC and strong pain killer had the desired effect—the injured gold ranger's body relaxed and he drifted off to sleep. Tommy gave a sigh of relief. Now he had another problem to deal with.

Katherine had been on the other side of Jason's bed from Tommy when he had first called him 'baby' and then proceeded to kiss him again and again. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her eyes grew big and her mouth fell open. She turned and hurried from the room with Tanya close behind. Tommy, at that moment, was too focused on Jason to care. Now though, he had some damage control to perform.

With another quick check on Jason, he turned and said, "Guys, I think we all need to have a talk."

They went through the doors into the adjoining room to which Kat and Tanya had disappeared. Billy, who hadn't been officially told yet, didn't seem too surprised. He had had his suspicions for months. Moreover, he couldn't care less. Tommy and Jason were two of his best, closest friends. If they'd found love and happiness together, so be it.

They found the girls sitting on the sofa, Tanya rubbing Kat's back and trying to talk to her. The pink ranger looked like she'd seen a ghost.

Tommy sat down heavily in the chair near the sofa. He sighed and rubbed his face. _'Here we go . . .'_

"Kat . . . I'm sorry. This is not how we wanted you to find out. As a matter of fact, that's why we were getting together today in the first place. Then all this happened." He gestured to the adjoining room where Jason lay.

A myriad of emotions were rushing through her head—surprise, anger, confusion, and disgust. She wasn't sure which to express first. Confusion won out.

"What the hell are you thinking? You and Jason, either one of you, could have any girl you wanted—several at a time, as a matter of fact. Why would you want each other? I don't understand." She paused. "That's just disgusting."

Adam gave her a disapproving look for that last comment. _'It's not disgusting—I think it's sweet.'_ He decided to hold his tongue and let Tommy handle this—for now.

"What are we thinking? We think . . . no, we _know_ that we love each other—truly and deeply. We have for sometime now, we've just been too scared to tell each other. But when I nearly _died_ a few weeks ago, we both decided that we'd wasted enough time. You don't understand our relationship—our bond. I think the only person in this room that might is Billy."

Everyone turned to look at their resident genius and he simply nodded his head 'yes'.

"By the way Billy, I'm sorry we hadn't told you yet either, but I'm sure you figured it out on your own anyway," Tommy said by way of apology to his old friend.

"Yeah, I can't truly say that I was shocked," Billy added. "So, who all knows?"

"Adam, Rocky, David, and Zack, who I'm sure has told Trini by now."

Kat locked Adam and Rocky with a questioning look. "And you guys are okay with this?!"

Adam spoke up first. "Yes, I am," he said matter-of-factly. "The intensity of emotion between them is not something that should be denied just because they both happen to be men. Love is love, Katherine." Tommy gave him a small, gentle smile. Adam was truly a gem.

Rocky was next. "Well, to tell you the truth, I was fairly freaked out when I caught them trying to rip each other's clothes off at the party Friday night, but . . ."

He was interrupted by Adam loudly clearing his throat. Rocky looked to see him holding his head in his hand and shaking it slowly. Tommy had turned red and was shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Good ol' Rock—leave it to him.

Kat looked like she had tasted something nasty. Rocky tried to salvage his thought.

"That was the same expression I had!" he said, pointing at Kat. "But what I was trying to say was . . . Adam made me see that Jason and Tommy are the same two amazing people I knew before I caught them. If they truly love and support each other, shouldn't we, who call ourselves their close friends, support them? I mean, that kind of love and closeness is hard to find—I know, I've been looking for it for a long time. I think we should be happy that they found each other."

'_Damn Rocky, good save,'_ Adam thought, somewhat proud of his old friend.

Kat turned to the former blue ranger. "Billy?"

He agreed with Adam and Rocky. "As I said, I wasn't all that surprised. I've known them both for a long time and we've been through a lot together, but Jason and Tommy have been through hell together. I've never seen two people connect as quickly and completely as those two did—right from the beginning. If their relationship has progressed beyond best friends and brothers, and apparently it has, so be it. They deserve to be happy."

He got up and walked over to Tommy and held out his hand. As Tommy took it, Billy patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm happy for you and Jase. It's been a long time in coming—make it last longer than you waited for it."

Tommy couldn't believe how open and expressive his male friends were being in regards to his and Jason's new relationship. It did his heart good. Now . . . for the females.

"Tanya, you've been very quiet. Do you have anything to say?" Adam asked.

She looked a little dazed by everything. "Ummm, well . . . I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment. Not to mention confused. Tommy, I seriously thought that you and Jason were the two straightest guys I've ever known. How could I have been so wrong?" She paused and then a thought hit her. "So what was Kim, a hood ornament?"

Tommy hung his head momentarily. "No Tanya," he sighed. "I had true, deep feelings for her, but she fixed that, now didn't she? Telling me that I was her best friend and like her brother . . . who used who, I ask you?"

"Okay, fair enough, but when did you decide you were gay?"

"I don't know that I am. Or bi. All I know is that I love Jase—whatever that makes me—so be it."

Adam gave him a warm smile. It was good to hear Tommy standing up for himself.

"And Jason—when did he decide that he was . . . whatever?"

"I'm not exactly sure when he decided that. He told me that he was bi last Christmas."

"Well damn. Anybody else have anything to confess?" Tanya asked. "Anybody else bi or gay? Just so we know."

Adam's stomach suddenly knotted up. Should he tell them? How will Rocky react? He didn't know, but he was tired of lying to his friends and to himself.

Rocky shook his head 'no' as did Billy, but Adam said, "Yeah, I've got something to say."

Rocky's eyes got as big as saucers and he turned to the young man he had grown up with, not knowing what to expect.

"I've been fighting with this for a while now, but Tommy and Jason have given me the courage to accept myself the way I am. I'm bi, also."

There, he'd said it and it felt good. What didn't feel good were the looks he was getting from everyone but Tommy and Billy.

Rocky stood up and walked across the room and stared into space. He couldn't believe this. What next?

Kat was still sitting there with an ugly look on her face.

"Kat? You want to say something?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, I do. I have a question for you, since we're all being so open with each other." She had a smartass tone to her voice that pissed Tommy off. He was in no mood.

"What's that?" Tommy asked.

"Have you and Jason had sex? I mean, Kim always told me that you weren't like that—that you were innocent. Is that true?"

Tommy wondered for a moment how much he should say—she had one helluva nerve to even ask that.

"No . . ." he paused.

"No you haven't had sex, or no you're not innocent?"

He looked at her with an intense look she had never seen directed at her.

"No . . . I'm not innocent—I'm not a virgin. But I _am_ a gentleman, so Kim never knew. I would never take that from her," he said with a steely tone.

Katherine just kept on pushing, though.

"So, you and Jason _have_ had sex then?"

"Well firstly, it's really none of your business, but since you're dying to know . . . what exactly do you mean by 'sex'?"

"Come on, you know what I mean—'all the way' . . . intercourse."

"In that case, no, we haven't."

She looked a tad relieved. Tommy would fix that. "But we've done just about everything else and we're working up to that, just so you know."

A new wave of disgust crossed her face and even extended, to a lesser degree, over to Tanya. Just as Tommy was about to say 'You asked', the door opened and in walked a very tired, pale-looking Jason wearing only his jeans. Tommy jumped up and went over to him immediately, putting his hands on either side of Jason's narrow waist.

"Jase, what are you doing out of bed? You need to rest."

"I'm feeling better, just a little tired and woozy. What happened?"

"We'll talk about that later. Right now, you need to at least sit down."

Jason wasn't sure, but he surmised from the looks on Kat and Tanya's faces that the topic of conversation had been he and Tommy's relationship.

"I'm fine," Jason said and two seconds later his knees started to buckle on him. Tommy caught him before he could hit the floor.

"Yeah, I can see that. Jason Lee Scott, what am I gonna do with you?"

"How 'bout takin' me home, bro?" he said, exhausted, but sounding like the Jason everyone knew.

"Okay, I can do that," Tommy said, grinning, as he held him tight against his body. "Hold on to me."

Jason happened to notice the look on Kat's face. Even in his depleted condition, he couldn't stop himself from giving her a taste of her own medicine.

"Mmmm . . ." cooed Jason and wrapped his arms around his lover and stroked his long tresses a couple of times. He was facing in Kat's direction, so he couldn't resist giving her a 'He's mine, bitch' look over Tommy's shoulder. Then he smiled and laid his head against his baby as they transported out.

'_Payback's a bitch, huh?'_

__________________

_Author's Notes: Next Chapter—the aftermath of Tommy, Jason, and Adam coming out to their friends. Please keep the reviews coming! They make my day!_


	20. Adam and Rocky Iron Things Out

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Crazy Joe, you crack me up! You need to message or email me somehow. Anyone who isn't registered on the site and therefore can't message me, please feel free to message me through MySpace or Facebook. Look up my name Susan Matisi. No flames, please.

**Chapter 20—Adam and Rocky Iron Things Out**

After Tommy and Jason left the Power Chamber, the remainder of the team decided to go their separate ways for the day. Kat and Tanya left together, presumably to talk. Rocky had to leave to make it home for a family thing at his house that evening.

"Come on, Adam. I'll give you a ride," Rocky said. He had a lot to talk to his best friend about.

As they were about to leave, Billy suddenly spoke up. "Adam, if you have a minute, I'd really like to talk to you—team business."

Adam looked back at Rocky who told him it was okay—Billy almost never asked for a private talk and, when he did, it was usually important.

"I'll catch up with you this evening, okay?" the green Zeo ranger said to his friend. He was anxious to know how Rocky felt about his 'coming out' to their friends. The little bit of a conversation they had had afterward had gone surprisingly well—Adam was surprised. Maybe Rocky had taken to heart what he said about Jason and Tommy—maybe.

Turning back to the former blue ranger, Adam said, "What's up, Billy?"

Billy looked very serious. "Adam, I need to talk to you concerning what occurred in the battle this afternoon—in your capacity as 2nd in command."

"Okay," he said slowly. _'That sounds ominous.'_

"What I'm concerned about happened after Tommy returned to the battle after bringing Jason here to the med bay. Did you notice anything odd about his behaviour?"

Adam didn't even have to think about it. "Yeah, I did. What are _you_ referring to?"

"Well, I haven't seen Tommy execute moves like that with a sword since he wielded the Sword of Darkness."

"The one he had when he was evil, you mean? The one he tried to kill Jason with?"

"Exactly. I don't remember seeing him operate with such malicious intent since then."

"And speaking of 'execute'--he went absolutely medieval on that lizard creature!"

Billy nodded. "Of course, now that I have confirmation of Jason and Tommy's new relationship it makes more sense, but . . . there's something else."

"Oh? What?"

"At first, I thought I was seeing things. Now I wish I had been." Billy looked quite worried.

"What, Billy? Tell me."

"A green glow was emanating from Tommy as he fought and killed that monster. It was slight, but it was distinct. Did you notice it?"

"I thought my eyes were playing tricks . . . yeah, I saw it."

Billy sighed and looked down. "This could be bad. I'm going to have to talk this over with Zordon."

"But Billy, the green ranger powers were destroyed, right?"

"That was our understanding, at least from what Zordon told us, but what other explanation is there?"

"I have no idea—that's your department, genius. But even if it _is_ the green ranger powers—that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the _evil_ green ranger, does it? Tommy used the power for good until he lost it completely, right?"

"Yes he did and you're right—it doesn't necessarily mean it's the evil aspect of the green ranger powers, if there is such a thing. It's just that . . . I have very vivid memories of fighting the green ranger and it wasn't pleasant."

"Tommy was good at being bad, huh? That what I've gathered from you guys."

"Yeah, very good at it. You have no idea. He nearly single-handedly brought all of this to an end . . ." Billy said, while gesturing to the Power Chamber as a whole. ". . . the Command Center, Zordon, Alpha, the zords, and all of us."

"All by himself?!"

"Yes. Rita chose well when she picked him. See, here's how I understand it: Rita's spell only made Tommy turn his considerable skills to the service of evil—it didn't give him the skills or the intensity—that he had already. When the spell was broken, everything stayed except the penchant for evil and the allegiance to Rita."

"I see."

"Make no mistake though, Adam--Tommy Oliver can be quite vicious—spell or no spell. That's why I want you to keep an eye on him. See if he acts differently over the next few days and especially watch for that green aura. I'm going to talk to Zordon about the situation."

"Will do, Billy."

"If, god forbid, Tommy were to be taken over by an evil force now, with all the experience and knowledge he has, we would have a _very_ difficult time defeating him . . . without destroying him, that is."

"Billy, don't even say that! It won't come to that—ever. If Tommy needs help, and right now we don't know that he does, we'll find a way to fix what's wrong."

"I hope you're right, Adam. Just watch him, okay?"

"Okay, no problem."

________________

The team's 2nd in command went home still thinking about what Billy had said and what he himself had seen in the battle.

'_Is it possible that some residual part of the green ranger powers still exists within Tommy? If so, why has it taken so long for it to show up?'_

Adam also began to formulate a theory. _'Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm getting the feeling that Billy is almost . . . afraid of Tommy. Some of the things he said . . . along with the fact that our resident genius has never seemed close to him. Does he not have confidence in him as a leader? Could he be, on some level, suspicious of him?'_

He also kept thinking about Billy's ominous statement, ". . . we would have a _very_ difficult time defeating him . . . without destroying him, that is."

Adam shuddered at the idea. He could never purposely hurt Tommy. That was absolutely unthinkable. There would have to be another way.

He turned his attention to another current issue—he needed to talk to his best friend. What he had done had really not been fair to Rocky and right now he wanted to try to straighten things out with him. He picked up the phone.

"Rocky. Hey man, could we get together and talk?"

"Ummm, sure. I'll have to wait a bit for this family thing to wind down and then I should be able to get away. I'll call you back when I'm free, okay?"

"Okay, sounds good. I'll be waiting."

Adam hung up and tried to think of something to keep himself occupied until Rocky called back.

'_Maybe I should think about what I'm going to say to Rock. I mean, that little revelation of mine had to have been a shock. I hope I haven't lost my best friend.'_

The green Zeo ranger gave himself a headache thinking about all of this. He even worried that Rocky would fail to call him back—letting him know for certain that he didn't want to talk to him. But that was unlikely. The blue Zeo ranger wasn't one to shrink from a challenge or run from a fight—he just hoped it wouldn't be a fight.

Finally, the phone rang and it seriously startled Adam who was still lost in thought. He knocked the phone into the floor and had to scramble to grab the receiver before it stopped ringing.

"H-hello?" he stammered.

"Hey, it's me. So, you wanna get together to talk?"

"Yeah. I think we need to, don't you?"

"Probably. Where'd you have in mind—my place or yours?"

"Whichever. Doesn't matter."

"Why don't I come over there? I need to get away from all these cousins anyway."

Adam chuckled. "Okay. See you soon."

_____________

Rocky knocked lightly while opening Adam's bedroom door.

"Hey Rock, come on in," Adam said, tossing aside the book he'd been trying in vain to read. "How's the extended family?"

"Getting bigger all the time. I have 3 new cousins that were born since this Spring. Those people need to slow down, I swear!" He sat down heavily on the end of Adam's bed.

"Good ol' huge Catholic families—I think it's great. Wish I had a bigger family."

"I'll give you a few of mine, okay?" Rocky grinned.

Adam suddenly looked serious. "Ummm . . . well . . . I guess we . . . I mean . . ." He was stammering again.

"We need to talk," Rocky finished his sentence for him.

Adam sighed. "Yeah." He paused and arranged his thoughts. "First of all, I'm sorry, Rock. I shouldn't have dropped that bomb on you in front of the whole team."

"Well, it was a shock, I have to tell ya. When did all this happen?"

'_He doesn't seem all that upset,' _Adam thought.

"I've been having these feelings for way over a year now. I've been fighting with it, trying to ignore it, and just lying to myself . . . and I feel like I've been lying to you guys by not telling you. I haven't given in much, though. I've had very little experience with guys so far, but I have to tell you . . . I like it."

Rocky shifted on the bed and cleared his throat. "Okaaaay." Visions popped in his head that he really didn't want. _'Too much information!' _"So, is there anyone specific that you're interested in?"

Rocky was desperately hoping that Adam wouldn't say 'you' because he knew he couldn't handle that. He loved his best friend dearly, but not in that way.

"Umm, no—not really."

"Then what made you come out with this news all of a sudden?"

"Well, Tommy and Jason deciding to tell the team had a lot to do with it. That gave me some courage and let me know that I'm not alone. I was afraid that if I didn't go ahead and say it then, I wouldn't be able to."

"So if you've been feeling this way for over a year, why haven't you talked to me about it before now?"

"Rocky . . . come on. I know how you feel about gays. Remember how you reacted to catching Tommy and Jason? Remember how you've always said that you wouldn't hang out with a gay guy because you would always think he was coming on to you? You could never use the gym shower with him around because you'd think he was looking at you?"

Rocky nodded and lowered his head.

"Doesn't exactly make me think that you'd be open to discussing those things with me. Believe me, I would've loved to have had someone to talk to."

"Sorry. Guess I haven't been a very good friend in that respect. I should have sensed that something was going on with you."

"No, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known. Anyway, being everyone's psychiatrist is _my_ gig, remember?"

Rocky grinned. "True . . . but you could have told me anyway. We've been friends for so long—I could put aside my own feelings to support you."

'_Did Rocky just say that? Wow.'_

"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?"

The blue ranger smiled. "Come on—I'm not as much of a cementhead as I used to be—you know that."

Adam grinned back. "Yeah, you're right. So . . . the big question: How do you really feel about me being bi? Are we still friends?"

Rocky gave him a disapproving look. "Adam, of course we're still friends. Why do you even ask that?"

"Because of the examples I just gave you."

"Still, you're different. I know you wouldn't be looking at me like that . . ." He just had to ask. He had to know. "Would you?" he asked sheepishly and looked at his friend nervously.

The green ranger had to chuckle. A part of him wanted to make Rocky squirm for a while—but that would be cruel. "No Rocky. I love you as my best friend, but I'm not attracted to you."

"Okay, good. Just wanted to get that out of the way. As for how I feel about it, I guess I'm okay with it. Like I said about Tommy and Jason, as long as I don't have to watch."

"I won't make you watch, but if I should start dating someone—you know, a guy—I don't want to think that I couldn't bring him around you."

"No, I wouldn't mind that, I don't think. It'll take some getting used to, but as long as he's not a jerk . . . or a drag queen."

A burst of laughter came from Adam. "Can you seriously see me with a drag queen?!"

"No, not really," he grinned. "So were you telling me the truth? There isn't anyone you're interested in?"

He thought for a moment. "No—not anyone that's in my league, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Okay, there _is_ someone I've been noticing, but . . . he's taken. And besides . . . he's gorgeous and popular—out of my league."

"That's bullshit, man. There's nothing wrong with you. I've heard girls talk about you—_'Oh, he's so cute—he has such a beautiful smile' _", he said in his best girly voice. "Why would a guy think any different?"

"Really? Who? Who thinks I'm cute?!" Adam was suddenly very interested.

"Umm, I don't remember—some girls at the Youth Center. Focus here—we're talking about guys . . ." He stopped and got a funny look on his face. "Did I just say that?"

Adam rolled on his bed, laughing at him. "Yep, you did!"

Rocky grinned in spite of himself. "Anyway, who would be out of your league? Who is it?"

"Uh uh, I'm not saying." He shook his head. "There's no point—like I said, he's taken."

"Okay, okay. You'll tell me eventually anyway. But no one's too good for you—I don't care how gorgeous or popular or whatever he is."

The green Zeo ranger couldn't help but think that was cute. He had been worried that Rocky wouldn't want to hang out with him anymore and here he was getting indignant that Adam should think any guy was too good for him.

"But Adam, there's another thing to consider. As much as you love kids, could you seriously be in a long term relationship that couldn't produce any?"

"Well honestly, I hadn't thought that far ahead. It'll be years before that becomes an issue. But you're right—it's something to think about."

Changing the subject, Rocky asked, "So what did Billy have to talk to you about? Can you tell me?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not. We talked about the battle today and some things he saw that disturbed him."

"Like Tommy going postal on that lizard creep? I don't remember ever seeing him act like that—glad he's on our side."

"Funny you should say that—that was one thing we talked about. Billy said he hasn't seen Tommy do things like that with a sword since he held the Sword of Darkness."

"Sword of Darkness—what's that?"

Adam sighed at his poorly informed friend. "The really powerful sword that the evil green ranger carried. The one he nearly sliced and diced Jason with."

"Oh. Damn. But speaking of the green ranger, did you see that spooky green light around Tommy?"

"You saw that too?"

"Yeah, but I thought either I was seeing things, or it was coming from the mutant lizard thingy—he _was_ green, ya know."

"No, it was coming from Tommy. Billy and I saw it too. It's really got our resident genius worried."

He went on to tell Rocky about the rest of the conversation and warned him not to say anything to their leader right now—just to keep an eye on him. Rocky agreed.

"So, you're still not gonna tell me who you're crushin' on?" Rocky asked with a grin. He wasn't going to leave it alone.

"No."

"Okay, that means I know him or you wouldn't care if I knew or not. You know, you're a black belt, you could always beat him into submission—or take out his . . . boyfriend."

"Rocky! First of all, I wouldn't do that and secondly, both of them could kick my ass."

"Uh huh—they're athletes, right? Football players? I've heard rumours . . ."

"Rocky?"

"Hmmm?"

"Shut up."

______________

The following morning, Adam picked Tommy up to give him a ride to school. He still wasn't allowed to drive because of his head injury.

"Hey Adam, thanks for giving me a ride," Tommy said as he climbed into the black jeep.

"No problem. How's Jase?"

"Well, his mom called this morning and said he wasn't going to school because he had flu symptoms—achy, tired—that sort of thing. We know what it is, of course."

"Yeah. How was he last night when you saw him?"

"Better. He still hurt and he was really drained, but he'll be okay. I stayed with him until about 10 last night."

"I'm sure he was glad of that. It's cool that you guys take care of each other like that."

"Wish my mom thought so," Tommy blurted out before he could catch himself.

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

"Nothing. She just thought I was out too late last night, that's all."

But it wasn't all. She had jumped all over Tommy when he had gotten home at 10:30 and let it slip that he still had homework to do. Memories of the argument came back to him as he sat quietly next to Adam.

_______________

"You still have homework to do—this late?" Mrs. Oliver had said loudly.

"Yeah, but it's not too much. I can get it done."

"You're still not caught up from being out, are you?" she asked sternly.

"Not quite, but Jase is helping me."

"Is that why you were over there so late tonight? Why didn't he drive you home?"

"Jase is . . . sick, and I was sitting with him. He stayed with me when I was in the hospital." _'More than you ever did.'_

"Great. Anything contagious? You're not going to get sick now, are you?"

'_Afraid you'll have to take care of me?'_ "Doubt it, he's achy, tired, and weak. I'll be fine, don't worry. I'm still full of antibiotics from the hospital."

"Sounds like the flu. Tommy, if you come down sick now, you'll get so far behind you won't graduate in the Spring—which means you won't be able to go to college in the Fall."

'_Which means I'll be under your thumb for another year—no fuckin' way! I'll move in with David before I'll let that happen!'_

"You know, I don't get you. With one breath you practically tell me I'm slow and not capable of doing well on my own . . . and with the next, you're on my back about college! If I'm so stupid, how can you expect me to get a degree?!"

"Tommy, I never . . ." she started.

He held his hand up for her to stop. "Whatever . . . just stop stressin'. I'll graduate and you'll see the back of me, okay? I know you can't wait . . ."

With that he had taken off up to his room and slammed the door. The stunned look on his mother's face was priceless.

________________

Adam could tell that Tommy wasn't up to talking much this morning, so he broke the silence.

"I had a long talk with Rocky last night—about me being bi, I mean."

Tommy suddenly snapped out of his blue funk. He had meant to ask him about that.

"Oh yeah. How'd that go? I gotta tell ya, you sorta surprised me."

"Surprised everyone, apparently. Rocky actually took it better than I thought he would."

Tommy smiled. "I think maybe after catching Jase and me that he was a little desensitized."

Adam chuckled. "Yeah, you may be right, but I'm really glad it didn't push him away. He's always been kinda homophobic."

"Seriously? I've never heard him say anything like that."

"No, he wouldn't have said it in front of you—only to me. I think that's why seeing you and Jase freaked him out so bad. He thought his 'gaydar' worked better than that!"

They both laughed hard.

"I needed that!" Tommy said, feeling a bit better. After a minute or so, he asked "Adam, do you consider yourself gay?"

"No. Do you? Think of yourself as gay, I mean."

"No, I don't. I don't feel any different than when I was with Kim, except my feelings for Jase are much stronger than they ever were for her."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Just goes to show that you and Jason are meant to be."

Tommy smiled warmly at him for that.

_______________________

The week went by pretty quickly without much really happening. Jason was back at school the next day feeling and acting normal, Rocky pretty much got over being weirded out by the revelation that three of his friends were bi, and there were no further sightings of the green aura, despite the rangers being in three battles. The only thing out of the ordinary was Kat's attitude toward Tommy, Jason, and Adam. Tanya had apparently reconciled herself to the reality, though she still seemed a bit distant. Kat, however, was just this side of openly hostile for the first couple of days after being told. After that, she was just distant and cold, despite the three men doing their best to make peace with her. Most of her attitude seemed to be aimed at Tommy and Jason, and it was pissing off the gold ranger. He was ready to bless her out, but Tommy tried to keep the peace.

"She'll get over it, just give her some space," he had told him.

But one afternoon she had gone too far. The team was back at the Power Chamber after a particularly long and exhausting battle with one of Gasket's creatures. Tommy had been slightly injured in the battle, as had Rocky. After being treated by Alpha, Tommy came in flexing his newly-repaired arm and carrying his red t-shirt.

"You okay, bro?" Jason asked, going over to see for himself.

"Yeah, I'm good. Alpha fixed me up—just a little stiff."

He started to pull his shirt on when the sore muscles stopped him. He grimaced and dropped his arms.

"Here, let me help," Jason said as he took the shirt and helped Tommy get it on over his bandage. Afterwards, he gently rubbed Tommy's arm as they stood close and shared a quick, soft kiss.

"Ahhh . . . god!" Katherine spat as she crossed the room away from them and towards Tanya. "That's just unnatural and disgusting," she said to the yellow Zeo ranger, a little louder than she should have.

It was the last straw for Tommy's patience. His body stiffened and he pulled away from Jason and moved purposely toward the two ladies. He was done playing.

"Katherine, I've had all I'm gonna take of your attitude. I've been trying to ignore it for the good of the team, but enough is enough. I'm sorry that you don't approve of my choice to be in a relationship with Jase, but that's just how it is. Now, you can accept it or reject it—it really doesn't matter to me. What _does_ matter to me is the unity of this team and you're causing a problem. So, whether or not you stay a part of this team is, right now, entirely up to you, but this has to stop."

He walked away from them all and went to stand outside for a while to get some fresh air. He frequently retreated to the cliffs outside the Power Chamber when he needed to think. The others stood around in silence, wondering if they should say anything or just leave. Rocky looked at Adam and mouthed a silent 'Wow' before turning away so that Kat couldn't see his amused face. Jason wore a smirk, but he didn't open his mouth.

'_Guess he told you, huh bitch?'_

After several minutes, Jason followed Tommy outside. He found him standing in his usual spot, staring out across the desert. Moving up close beside him, Jason put an arm around his waist.

"Still pissed?"

Tommy sighed. "I'm okay. I just had enough, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know exactly. I had enough days ago. You're the only reason I haven't gone off on her. She had it coming, T."

"I guess. I just don't want to have to replace her right now."

"Well, no one's irreplaceable—except maybe you. Don't worry about it."

"Hmphf. I'm not irreplaceable. The day is coming soon when Zordon will have to replace me. I can't do this forever, ya know. I want a normal life at some point." Tommy laid his head on his bro's shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Normal is overrated. You'll get bored, you adrenaline junkie you," Jason said and started playing with his lover's hair. He kissed his forehead.

Before long though, their gentle caresses and chaste kisses grew hotter and more passionate. Jason's hands rubbed Tommy's chest, shoulders, and neck and ran through his chestnut locks. Tommy's hands were firmly planted on Jason's ass as their mouths connected and their tongues intertwined. They shared long, deep, wet kisses--both moaning with pleasure. They were oblivious to everything but each other as they continued to try to meld their two bodies into one. Only coming up for air when the need became too great, they explored each other's mouths in detail and kissed until they were senseless.

Jason and Tommy were too into each other to notice the pair of dark, slightly slanted eyes watching them from just outside the door. Adam had come looking for them to make sure they were both okay when he came upon this lustful scene. He couldn't help but watch.

'_Man, Rocky was wrong—there is _nothing _disgusting about this! They are _sooo_ hot together . . .'_

He felt himself getting hard as he watched. A momentary guilty feeling went through him, but he dismissed it. He wasn't doing any harm—he had just never thought of himself as a voyeur.

The green Zeo ranger saw Jason's hand move across Tommy's chest and he wondered what that lean, muscular body felt like under your hand. He watched Tommy's fingers grasping at the gold ranger's waist and then trail downward, ending up on that tight, round ass. He could hear them both moaning softly into each other's mouths. Jason's hand left Tommy's shoulder and went to his ponytail, pulling gently at the holder until that mane flowed loose and free down his back. Two hands were immediately entangled in the silken locks and Adam's hands ached to be there as well. He had always wondered what that hair felt like.

'_Man, I wish I could get in on that. A few more minutes and clothes will be coming off!'_

"Let's go home, okay?" Jason panted when he could pry his mouth away from his lover's.

"Yeah, okay. Let's go," Tommy said breathlessly, sounding like he had plans for the hot gold ranger.

They teleported away and left Adam standing there in desperate need of either some privacy or a cold shower.

_______________________

When Katherine had recovered from the shock of Tommy dressing her down like that, she became furious and teleported out with Tanya right behind her. They arrived at the Hillard's house and went up to Kat's bedroom.

"Can you believe he talked to me like that?!"

"Well, he _is_ the commander, Kat. We're such good friends that we sometimes forget that."

"Yeah well . . . you heard what he _said_—but did you get what he _meant_?"

"What do you mean?"

"He said that, right now, it's up to me whether I stay on the team or not—meaning that, in the future, it won't be up to me. He's thinking about kicking me off the team! Can he do that?"

"I don't know. As the leader of the team and the longest-serving active ranger, I'd say there's a good possibility. But Kat, all you have to do is chill with the anger and the attitude. That's what's causing the problem."

"I can't help it, Tanya. I keep getting these mental pictures of Tommy and Jason making out, rolling around on a bed together, ripping each other's clothes off. It's nauseating."

"Why does that bother you so much?"

"Because they're both handsome, great guys who could have any girl in this town . . . and they want each other. It doesn't make sense."

"What you're trying to say is, they want each other . . . instead of me. Admit it girl, you're jealous and hurt because Tommy chose Jason over you. That's the whole deal, isn't it?"

"That's part of it, yeah."

"Kat, you know you're my best friend, but listen—you've got to face facts. Tommy is in love with Jason whether you like it or not. You've alienated yourself from at least half of the team because of your anger. Your grades are even slipping because of this. Here's my best advice: You'd better put on your big girl panties and deal with it before you lose some friends _and_ your place on the team!"

_______________________

Katherine sat alone in her bedroom for hours, supposedly doing homework, but actually she was lost in thought. Part of her knew that Tanya was right, she had to face facts. Tommy didn't want her, but somehow it would be easier to take if it were another girl. At least there would be the hope that someday she'd have another chance. But if he's turned gay, that was it. Even if he was bi, once he'd been with another man, that would ruin him. Could she ever be with a guy that she knew had been with a man? The thought was sickening. A funny, smart, kind, gorgeous man like Tommy ruined—she couldn't stand it. Disgust ran all over her again and she made a decision. If they were coming out to their friends, it should be to _all_ their friends. She picked up the phone.

"Hello?" a tired voice answered.

"Hey there girl, it's Kat. Sorry to call you so late."

"Oh, hey Kat. I thought I recognized that California number. What's up?"

"Been dealing with lots of crap and I needed someone to talk to—got a few minutes?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Well, it's mainly Tommy. You know I've been interested in him since he's been available."

"Right, and I think you two would make a cute couple. So what's the problem, is he being shy again?"

"Uh, no. He started seeing someone when he got out of the hospital."

"Oh really? Who is it? Do I know her?"

"Umm, well . . . let's just say that he's not the shy, innocent guy you thought he was."

"What does that mean?"

"He's dating Jason."

"What?!" Kimberly Hart's shocked voice came through the receiver. "It sounded like you said Tommy and Jason are dating."

"I did, Kim. They apparently expressed their undying love for each other while Tommy was in the hospital and they've been inseparable ever since."

There was silence on the other end.

"You there?" Kat asked.

"Uh, yeah. I'm here," Kim answered, sounding thoroughly stunned.

"Hard to believe, isn't it? Two guys like that wanting each other instead of their choice of women."

"Kat, are you sure about this? I mean, I know Jason _and_ Tommy pretty well, and . . . I can't believe they're together."

"I don't think you know them as well as you think. Did you know that Tommy wasn't a virgin when you dated? Not even close. And Jason—he's been bi for years, apparently."

Kim was being thrown for a serious loop. "So . . . so he lied to me?"

"Which one?"

"Tommy."

"I don't know. Either he lied or he just didn't tell you. Did you ever ask him about his past?"

Kim stopped and thought. "We talked about it a little, but he usually seemed uncomfortable, so most times the subject was dropped. He just seemed so shy and reserved—so . . . innocent that I guess I just assumed he was. Was that all an act?"

"I don't know, Kim. He's certainly not that way now."

She thought about that for a little while and couldn't immediately deal with the implications, so she turned her attention to Jason.

"You said that Jason claims he's been bi for years?"

"That's what I got from what he said. He, Tommy, and Adam have been trying all week to explain things to me—ever since I found out on Sunday."

"What's Adam got to do with anything?"

"Oh, he revealed that he's bi also."

"Damn. Really? But back to Jason—so would that be before or after he went to Switzerland?"

"After, I think. Something must have happened to him over there."

"Well, he and I haven't been on speaking terms since I br . . . since me and Tommy's relationship ended . . . so it's not like he's going to call and tell me."

"Kim, all this is why I called. I've been so upset over this stuff—I just had to talk to someone."

"I understand, Kat. It's all hard to believe. I wish I could make you feel better, but I'm so stunned right now, I don't know what I could say."

"It's okay. I'll have to learn to deal with it, but it's good to know that I'm not the only one who's upset by this relationship."

As Katherine hung up the phone, a self-satisfied smirk ran across her face. "That oughta do it . . ."

___________________

After her call from Kat, Kim sat in her Florida apartment thinking.

'_Could this be true? Are Tommy and Jason now gay or bi or whatever like Kat claims? And are they together? Is it even possible?'_

She thought back to when she had first met Tommy at school—he was so shy and gentle with her. That is, until Rita got hold of him. Afterward though, he had gone right back to his insecure, bashful self. The only time he seemed sure of himself was when he was battling bad guys or sparring with the team. Otherwise, he had to be drawn out of himself.

'_Hell, it took him forever to ask me out. Could all that have been an act? But if he wasn't as innocent as I thought he was, it had to have been.'_

All of this was giving her a headache. She wished she could just pick up the phone and call him—straighten it out once and for all—but she couldn't do that. She hadn't had the courage to call him to break up; instead she had done it through a letter. Then she had bolted from the hospital before he woke up from his coma—before she knew if he was going to live or die. She winced at that thought—some friend she was. Add to that the fact that she hadn't called him in the weeks he'd been out of the hospital just to check on him. All of that led to one conclusion—there was no way in hell he was going to talk to her. And she couldn't call Jase—he would just cuss her out—again.

She sighed and held her head in her hands. Then an even more disturbing thought entered her mind.

'_Is this my fault?'_

Kim thought about this possibility for a while.

'_Maybe the reason he was so shy and unsure of himself was because of his past relationships that he didn't want to talk about. Maybe they had ended badly and he had been hurt. I'll bet that's why he took so long to ask me out. Once we got together though, he came out of his shell some and things were good for quite awhile. Then I sent that freakin' letter . . . I blind-sided him out of nowhere.'_

She hung her head and mentally kicked herself. She didn't regret breaking up with Tommy—she really did love Eric and wanted to be with him. It was the way she had broken Tommy's heart that made her feel so guilty. Jason's words flashed through her mind: 'What kind of coward breaks up with a man like Tommy through a lame letter? That was so wrong! Every one of us knows how sensitive and fragile Tommy can be—you, of all people, should know that! . . . Who do you think was the first person he called for support? Who do you think he cried to? Yes, _cried_ to!"

Revelation hit her square in the head.

'_Oh my god, it _is_ my fault! I drove him to this! I shattered his confidence in his ability with women and drove him into a man's arms! Even if it _is_ Jase . . . Oh no!'_

But what could she do about it? Neither of them would talk to her. She really needed Trini to try and reason with Tommy, but she was back in Switzerland. The former pink ranger sat in her lonely bedroom trying to decide how to fix the mess she'd created.

_______________________

Back in Angel Grove, things had calmed down a bit. A couple of days after Tommy's warning/threat, Katherine had decided to tone her act down some. She knew that the unity of the team was important. After all, people's lives were riding on their ability to beat the baddies back. She didn't want to be responsible for a catastrophe. However, that didn't mean she had to hang out with them all the time and pretend everything was alright. But she was trying. Jason and Tommy were trying too. They tried not to act too amorous in front of her.

Jason had even let her talk him into modeling in a charity fashion show when they suddenly needed more models. Tommy had flat refused, but Jason went along with it, though it was more for Tanya than for Kat. He endured all kinds of smartass remarks from Tommy for his trouble. He really did rather well and he looked remarkably comfortable up there on the catwalk. Even Tommy had to admit that.

'_Besides, those tight pants really show off his . . . _assets_ well!'_ he had thought.

Truth be told, Tommy was sitting in the audience inwardly beaming with pride that_ his_ boyfriend was gorgeous enough to model. Jason topped off the weekend, and stopped Tommy from making his wiseass remarks, by giving his lover a private show in which he completely stripped for him. Amused but completely turned on, the only thing Tommy could say afterward was, "How did you get all that in such a tiny little g-string?"

________________

_Author's Notes: Hey gang!! As always, thanks for all the great reviews! I'm really glad everyone is enjoying themselves! It's nice to see some new names showing up in the reviews! _

_Just so you know, I'm going to Ikkicon (Anime Convention) in Austin, TX next weekend, so there may not be an update next week. If I can possibly get it typed and edited in time, I'll try to post it before I leave. Hopefully, I'll have some fabulous new pictures of Jason David Frank when I come back! Yummy! _

_Next Chapter: My retelling of "Where in the World is Zeo Ranger 5/ King for a Day". Watch it on YouTube if you need a refresher--my version is much better though!! *grin*_


	21. Gasket Snatches Tommy

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** This chapter roughly follows the events of the Zeo episodes "Where in the World is Zeo Ranger 5?" and "King for a Day", but my version is better!

**Chapter 21—Gasket Snatches Tommy**

Since they had learned to play nice with each other—for the most part—Tommy and Jason invited Kat to come along with the rest of the gang to the lake with them so Tommy could help his uncle with the waverunner he planned to race. It was one of the last weekends of the season and Ernie was about to close the beach club until Spring.

Jason gave Tommy a discreet little kiss and told him to be careful before joining everyone at the umbrella-topped tables on shore. It was an unseasonably warm day and they sipped their drinks while enjoying some of the last warm weather they'd get for a few months.

Out on the lake, Tommy was really tearing it up on his uncle's expensive racing machine. Jason watched with a big smile on his face—Tommy really was an adrenaline junkie, just like Jason had accused him of being. Kat seemed worried that Tommy was going to hurt himself, but Jason was confident.

"He knows what he's doing—he's really doing well. Don't worry."

They watched him for a few more minutes until he decided to head to the other side of the lake. Jason got up at once to walk over that way, apparently rethinking the confidence he had just shown. He was a bit worried about Tommy after all, but he didn't have a conscious reason. He just felt the need to keep an eye on him. Little did he know that he was right to be worried. The day was about to take a sinister turn.

Kat, Tanya, and Adam had decided to join him on his stroll around the lake and they all talked happily. However, no sooner had they received a happy wave from Tommy than he disappeared in the blink of an eye—just utterly vanished. No splash, no yell for help . . . nothing.

"Where'd he go?!" Jason asked, getting scared all of a sudden.

"I don't know, he's just gone," Kat replied.

"Come on, let's go!" Jason urged Kat forward onto the wave rider that was sitting on shore. All conflict, all bickering, all differences of opinion evaporated in their joint concern for Tommy. They reached the suddenly riderless racing machine and examined it and the surrounding water.

"Where is he?! Could he have fallen in the water?" Kat asked.

"No, I don't think so. We would have seen that. Besides, he was wearing a life jacket," Jason reasoned. "He's just . . . gone."

After another couple of minutes of searching fruitlessly, Jason jumped onto the waverider Tommy had been on and took it to shore. Both of them were thinking the same thing—Gasket.

As soon as they had reached shore and pulled the two watercraft from the lake, Tommy's uncle showed up looking for his nephew. Jason made up a fast lie to get rid of him and they quickly made contact with the Power Chamber.

"Zordon, Tommy's just vanished from the lake. There's no sign of him anywhere."

ALPHA, INITIATE A WORLDWIDE SCAN FOR TOMMY'S WHEREABOUTS. YOU ALL BETTER TELEPORT HERE.

Quickly, they did as he'd asked and they arrived just as Alpha announced that Tommy was nowhere to be found on the planet. That confirmed it—it had to be Gasket.

"Zordon, where could he be?" Jason asked, getting more worried by the moment.

AT THIS TIME, WE DO NOT KNOW, JASON.

Alpha gave them a scanner to try to pick up any residual energy left by whatever force took their leader. They had just arrived back on the shore of the lake and began scanning when a squad of cogs showed up to gum up the works. Someone didn't want them to find Tommy. If there had been any doubt before, there wasn't now. It was the self-appointed, temporary head of the Machine Empire, the evil Prince Gasket that had taken Zeo Ranger 5. Now they just had to trace where he was holding him. The cogs managed to nearly destroy the hand-held scanner in the tussle, but Alpha was able to repair it.

When the team met the monster du jour, Cruel Chrome, Jason slipped instinctively back into leader mode in the absence of Tommy. He hadn't meant to usurp Adam—he was just worried about his bro and his leader genes took over. Adam understood. Jason simply dismissed being called a "second-rate substitute" by the ugly waverider-turned-monster that they were fighting.

'_I'll show you a second-rate substitute,'_ he thought.

Having dispatched the creature, Jason once again turned his attention to finding Tommy. He and Kat combed the shore carefully, trying to be as thorough as possible. Jason was beginning to have disturbing flashbacks of the nightmares.

'_Please let Tommy be okay—please.'_

Just because it was Gasket instead of Mondo like in his dreams, his fears were not put to rest. He had heard how cruel and ambitious the eldest son of Mondo and Machina was and what better way to impress the folks than by destroying the leader of the Power Rangers.

He kept telling himself that those nightmares were just dreams—not reality and not a prediction of the future. But he was still worried out of his mind.

'_What if they _are_ torturing him? What if they . . . oh please, no.'_

Jason tried to keep his mind on getting a good scan—that would greatly increase their chances of finding the one he loved before anything awful could happen to him.

'_If it hasn't already . . .'_

But the gold ranger knew that he would have felt it if something _had_ happened to him already. That psychic link they shared was pretty reliable and it was getting stronger all the time. Jason remembered the day that Tommy had been hurt so badly and the night in ICU when he had almost lost him . . . he had felt that something was wrong—he didn't have that feeling now. That helped to reassure him a little . . . but only just a little.

Once they had returned to the Power Chamber, Alpha used the data from the scanner to track Tommy to another dimension. The instruments were picking up strange readings of Tommy's brainwave activity. The waves seemed to be changing. After Zordon had processed the information, he made an announcement that struck fear in Jason's heart.

WHEREVER HE IS—WHOEVER HAS AHOLD OF HIM—IS CHANGING HIM. IF WE'RE ABLE TO TRACK HIM DOWN, I'M NOT SURE WE'RE GOING TO LIKE WHO WE FIND.

Jason's expression and body language spoke volumes, though he said nothing right away. He looked lost . . . lost and scared.

'_No, not my Tommy. Oh my god . . .'_

He felt that familiar knot return to the pit of his stomach—images from his nightmare came to mind against his will.

"Zordon, we know who has him—it has to be Gasket, don't you agree?" Jason asked, his voice heavy with worry.

THAT IS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. HOWEVER, AT THIS MOMENT, WE HAVE NO CONFIRMATION OF THAT.

While the rangers paced the Power Chamber waiting for some word from Alpha or Zordon concerning Tommy's whereabouts, Billy was being recalled from Triforia. It was hoped that their brainiac could help to find and rescue their leader.

Katherine was dealing with her own worry and shock at seeing Tommy vanish into thin air like that, but as she watched Jason pace back and forth she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. His shoulders were slumped and his head lowered, he wore a pained expression. He didn't say a thing, but it was obvious that he was agonizing over this. She realized that his pain was far greater than her own. It was the beginning of her understanding.

Adam went over and held him by the shoulders and got him to look into his eyes.

"Jason, we'll find him, I know it. I'm not gonna say 'Don't worry' because we're all worried, but you know Alpha, Zordon, and Billy--they won't rest until he's home. All we have to do is find out where he is and we'll bust in there and go ballistic on their asses, okay?!"

That got a small grin from the gold ranger. He said in a weary voice, "Yeah, I know." He just hoped they weren't too late. In all the time that he, Tommy, and the others had been rangers, no one had ever been killed. Banged up—broken bones, cuts, bruises, etc.—yes, but not killed. Something in Jason's mind made him afraid that they were due. The power makes you resilient, not immortal.

He tried to tell himself that his love for Tommy was clouding his judgement. After all, it wasn't the first time one of the rangers had been snatched and held and they, including himself, had all been brought back alive. But Zordon had said that Tommy's brainwaves were being altered, whoever had him was changing him.

'_When we get him back, will he still be my Tommy? Will he even remember me? Are they trying to turn him evil again? God, this waiting is killing me!'_

_____________

--2 hours ago--

Tommy was enjoying himself immensely. The waverunner was performing like a dream, cutting through the water like a hot knife through butter. The sun was warm, the sky was clear, and he could see his new lover watching him from the shore. He raised his arm to wave at him and then felt the familiar pull of a transport beam. This wasn't from the Power Chamber though—it felt different somehow. The scene that had just graced his eyes suddenly disappeared and he felt himself floating almost in limbo, surrounded by complete darkness for several anxious moments.

'_What's happening? Where am I?'_

Presently, he felt himself falling in this inky darkness. He landed with a thud onto his stomach and had the wind knocked out of him. He gasped and struggled for air for long seconds until he could finally breathe again. He figured he must have fallen from a height of at least 10 feet.

Tommy sat up and tried to survey his surroundings. He knew the floor was cold and hard and seemed to be made of some sort of rough stone. He had the imprint of it on his chest. His eyes began to adjust a bit and he could just make out bars—cell bars.

'_Great. Do I have a Kidnap Me Please sign on my freakin' back?!'_

There wasn't a lot of surrounding noise, but he could hear voices in the distance. They seemed to have a . . . _metallic_ sound to them.

'_Gasket! Mondo!'_

Hell, it didn't really matter—either of them meant trouble—and that's exactly what he appeared to be in right now . . . trouble. He felt his wrist for his communicator.

'_Good, it's still there.'_

If his communicator was still on his wrist, then his zeonizers could still be called. Question was, would either of them work here?

'_One way to find out.'_

He lifted his wrist to his lips and spoke softly.

"Alpha? Zordon? This is Tommy. Please come in."

He waited for a few seconds and tried again.

"Please come in. Rangers, this is Tommy. Can anyone hear me?"

Again, he waited. Nothing.

'_Okay, looks like I'm on my own for now.'_

He stood and moved cautiously forward toward the bars and the only light source he could make out. As he reached the barrier, the sound of approaching footsteps made him shrink back into the darkness as he waited to see who was approaching.

He shivered in the cold darkness. His wet, bare feet and damp clothes added to his discomfort. He knew Jason and the others were looking for him—he just wished they'd hurry up. The noise grew louder and it seemed that there were several sets of feet moving in the direction of Tommy's cell. He called his zeonizers and prepared to morph if necessary.

'_Hope they work better than the communicator.'_

The approaching noise stopped and a lone figure stood close to the bars, the spooky yellow eyeshine glowing in the darkness. Tommy could just make out the shape of a head. Then it spoke.

"Zeo Ranger 5, welcome to my dungeon. I trust you are uninjured by your journey here. Step forward and let me see you."

'_Gasket! I was afraid of this.'_

Tommy stayed put in the darkness and didn't utter a sound. If the tin-plated creep wanted him, he'd have to come in after him.

"Come now, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you—in fact, I have big plans for you and I need you well and uninjured."

'_Yeah, I'll bet.'_

He waited for a few moments. When no movement or sound came from inside the cell, Gasket changed his tactic.

"Fine. Why do you humans always have to be so difficult? Raise the bars! Go in after him and restrain him!"

Tommy could hear the grinding of gears coming to life and heard the bars raise up into the ceiling. He was now facing a solid line of cogs and creatures, all under orders to subdue him. Well, he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Zeo Ranger 5—Red!" he shouted and morphed in a bright flash of red light.

"Ah, that's what I've been waiting for! Gas him!"

The creatures were on three sides of him all of a sudden, all pointing what looked to be the cone ends of fire extinguishers at him. He couldn't see it because of the darkness, but thick, white fog came shooting out of the devices and Tommy felt his throat start to contract. He coughed and choked, trying in vain to cover the ventilation holes in his helmet. He felt his head start to spin—he was already disoriented because of the darkness, but now his senses were so clouded that he literally didn't know which way was up. Collapsing to his knees, he clutched his throat—he couldn't breathe. Bright little flashes danced before his eyes—a sure sign of a lack of oxygen. With a deep groan, he fell over onto his side, unconscious.

__________________________

When Tommy awoke, he could hear strange sounds coming from a nearby machine. He slowly opened his eyes, but he was completely blinded. He could feel that he still had his helmet on, but something was obscuring his vision. His head rolled from side to side, unable to support the weight. Was he so weak that he couldn't hold his head up? No, there was a definite added weight that made his neck muscles hurt as they tried to balance the extra load. Tommy attempted to lift his arms to find out what it was, but he found them restrained. He seemed to be in a sitting position with his feet barely reaching the floor. He tried to stand, but was held back by another restraint that was holding his hips down. At least he could breathe now.

"He's waking up. Hurry, start the procedure now," Tommy heard a nearby voice say. Soon he heard whatever it was on his head start making noises. He wasn't in pain exactly, he just felt strange--sort of like he was in a drug-induced dream state. He began seeing past experiences float through his mind—some good, some bad. As the minutes ticked by, however, the experience became decidedly less benign. Tommy began reliving some of his worst memories, only now they had been amplified. He found himself standing in the Command Center in his white ninjetti uniform where he and the other rangers had just returned from Phaedos, only this time, they were too late. Zordon couldn't be saved, even after all they had been through. The being that was most like a father figure to him lay dead in front of him due to his failure. In his captive position, he thrashed his head from side to side. He pulled at the restraints to no avail. The next painful memory began to play through his mind.

He was the green ranger standing atop a building in downtown Angel Grove. He felt himself bring the dragon dagger to his lips and direct the Dragonzord to destroy a building. Even though he had suppressed those memories, he vaguely remembered doing that. This time, however, Tommy heard the screams of the people inside and saw the huge zord crush several people to death on the street below. Faces of the men, women, and children that he was so callously killing were projected into his mind. Dozens of them—elderly couples, young businessmen, pretty young women, and the children—small children, even babies, who never had a chance to live. It was more than he could stand.

"I couldn't help it . . . I couldn't stop myself . . . oh God, what have I done??" he cried.

He fought harder against the machine that he instinctively knew was causing his mental anguish. The harder he fought, the more painful it became . . . and he was getting weaker.

It started again. Tommy found himself in Rita's dark dimension, still as the green ranger. He looked down to find a red clad Jason lying at his feet, holding his hand up in a feeble attempt to stop what he feared was coming.

'_Oh no . . . not this . . . please . . .'_ Tommy thought.

He could hear himself laugh in delight at Jason's panic—the red ranger's eyes were wide and he was drenched in sweat. The red Zeo ranger watched in horror as he saw himself raise the sword of darkness over his head with both hands and, this time, he drove it deep into Jason's broad chest. The evil green ranger laughed—the red Zeo ranger screamed. Tommy watched his evil self twist the blade a bit before pulling it out and then he stood there, watching Jason clutch his chest and writhe in pain. Blood poured from the open wound—his pleading eyes looking up at Tommy as he tried to speak—

"Why Bro? Why?" he cried.

The intense pain was evident on his face—it was horrible for Tommy to watch. His evil self apparently wasn't satisfied, though. He raised the sword again.

"I told you I'd destroy you first, didn't I?" he said cruelly and laughed again as he plunged the blade into Jason's abdomen.

"No!" the red Zeo ranger screamed and struggled against his restraints. He watched as blood poured from his best friend's wounds and heard him groan in agony. He lifted a bloody hand in the direction of the green ranger and whispered "Tommy . . ." With that, his body went limp but his lifeless, teary eyes still stared up at his attacker.

"No!! It didn't happen like that!" Tommy yelled.

He fought back even harder, but his body and mind were giving out. His powers were leaving him, being drained away. Before long, he could no longer think. The visions were gone, replaced with utter darkness. The pain was gone, replaced by numbness, but still he struggled. It wouldn't be long before the struggle would be over.

__________________

"Billy! Glad you're back," Rocky said to the former blue ranger as he walked into the Power Chamber.

"Hi Rocky. Thanks. I just hope I can help." He walked over to Alpha to find out if there had been any developments since he left Triforia. After looking over several readouts and screens full of data, he glanced over at Jason who was across the room, leaning on a console. Billy could tell he was extremely worried and getting frustrated at not being able to do anything to rescue Tommy. He leaned over and spoke softly to Rocky.

"How's Jase holding up?"

"He's okay, I guess. Adam's been trying to talk to him and keep him calm, but I think it's getting harder to do."

"I'll bet. Jase isn't really the talking kind."

Zordon had just finished analyzing the latest data they were getting concerning Tommy.

BILLY, GOOD TO SEE YOU ARE BACK WITH US SAFELY. YOUR ASSISTANCE IS GREATLY NEEDED. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST INFORMATION WE HAVE RECEIVED, TOMMY IS IN GREAT DANGER.

"What does the data indicate, Zordon?" Billy asked.

AT THE RATE HIS BRAINWAVES ARE CHANGING, TOMMY WON'T BE TOMMY MUCH LONGER.

Rocky looked over at Jason whose body had stiffened and his fists had clenched.

"We have to do _something_," he pleaded and looked at Billy and Alpha with desperation in his eyes.

"Jase, we're doing everything we can. You know I'll do my best to bring him back safely," Billy told him.

Jason sighed. "I know Billy, I just feel so damn helpless!"

Adam reached up and patted Jason's shoulder. He knew it really wouldn't make him feel better, but at least he would know that they were all here for him and just as worried about Tommy.

Several quiet, tense minutes passed and then Billy suddenly spoke up.

"Alpha, do you see this energy anomaly located in the vicinity of the lake? What do you make of that?"

"It appears to be an interdimensional doorway of some kind. It's possible that it's being generated by Gasket, but I don't know for sure."

"I'll go check it out," Jason said, walking forward quickly, preparing to transport himself.

"Wait Jase! It could be a trap!" Adam said.

"I'll be careful. I have to do this, guys. I'm going crazy just standing here."

"Then I'm coming with you," Adam announced.

"Me too," spoke up Katherine, who had been very quiet up to now.

"Okay, but please be on your guard. We don't yet know what we're dealing with. You'd better morph," Billy warned them.

All three agreed as they called on their rangers powers and disappeared from the Power Chamber, reappearing on the shore of the lake not too far from where Tommy had been taken. Jason, Adam, and Katherine cautiously scanned the surroundings, half expecting a squad of cogs to descend upon them. Everything seemed quiet, though. Too quiet, actually. They walked a couple of hundred feet, always watching each other's backs, but they found nothing.

"Damn it! There's got to be something here! Some trace, some clue . . . _something_!" Jason exclaimed.

As they were all lamenting coming up empty, they spotted a weird, glowing light coming from nearby. It was growing brighter and larger and they knew they had to check it out.

"That's got to be it! Come on!" Adam said and started running in the direction of the glow. Jason and Katherine followed and they stopped when it came into full view.

"That's a doorway of some kind," Jason said, pointing.

"Let's be careful, guys. Doorways go both directions, you know," Katherine wisely reminded them.

They inched closer, all the while watching out for an attack from the rear. Suddenly, Zeo Ranger 5 appeared in the doorway, holding his arms out to them.

"Help me . . . please," he said, sounding weak and in pain. He seemed to be having trouble moving.

"Tommy!" Jason shouted and started forward toward him.

"Jase, be careful! It could be a trap," Adam said, grabbing his arm to stop him.

The gold ranger turned to look at him. "Maybe, but if there's a chance to save him, I have to try, Adam. I let Tommy down once before and I'm _not_ going to let it happen again!" He pulled his arm away and turned back to face the doorway.

"Tommy, hang on bro!" he said as he started charging at the doorway.

Adam and Katherine watched him almost reach their leader and then, to their alarm, the image disappeared and the doorway began closing in on itself drawing everything in the immediate vicinity into it. Jason was caught in its powerful pull—he tried in vain to free himself, but he wasn't strong enough to break free. Finally, he yelled for the others to stay back. They saw him get sucked through the portal and watched it close behind him, disappearing from sight.

"Oh my god," Adam said softly.

"Jason . . . not him too!" Kat exclaimed.

"Billy, Alpha, come in."

"Go ahead," Billy answered.

"Billy, we've lost Jason. He was pulled through the portal and now it's closed," Adam reported.

"Yeah, we saw it happen. Come back to the Power Chamber—we need to regroup."

_______________

"What now? We've lost both of them!" Kat proclaimed as she paced the Power Chamber, helmet in hand.

"We keep looking," Alpha said matter-of-factly.

Adam walked over to a console and banged his fist—he was clearly distraught over the apparent capture of the gold ranger. Rocky came over beside his friend and laid a hand on his back.

"Hey . . ." he began.

"I should have stopped him, Rocky. I shouldn't've let him go!"

"Like you could've stopped him. You know when Jason's upset he's like a force of nature! You're lucky you didn't get in his way!" Rocky remarked, trying to keep Adam from blaming himself.

"I know, but that's our two strongest teammates gone. What if Gasket decides to attack now?"

"We'll handle it the best we can."

"And _who_ will lead us?"

"You will, Froggy," the blue ranger stated, putting an arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Me?!"

"Yes you—don't sell yourself short, my friend," Rocky said, affirming his confidence in the green Zeo ranger.

HE IS RIGHT, ADAM. YOU ARE A FINE RANGER AND A CAPABLE LEADER IN YOUR OWN RIGHT.

A tiny smile appeared on the green ranger's lips. He looked up at their mentor.

"Thanks, Zordon."

______________________

Jason found himself dropped into an arena of sorts. He was surrounded on three sides by creatures and cogs—in front of him was the king's viewing box which held Gasket, Archerina, and . . . Tommy. He stood there facing Jason, not moving, his face obscured by his helmet. Physically, he looked okay, but Jason was worried about his mind.

'_Does he recognize me at all?'_

Once Tommy had proclaimed himself as the "King of the Mighty Machine Empire" and vowed to destroy the "evil that is the Power Rangers", Jason had his answer.

"Tommy, snap out of it!" Jason called to his bro. "What have you done to Tommy, Gasket?" he barked.

"Silence, Ranger. Prepare to meet our champion in battle! Altor—to the ring!"

Jason watched as a large golden beast made his way into the ring amid cheers from the surrounding creatures. He was big and looked vicious. They stared at each other and began circling, looking for an opening . . .

__________________

"I'm picking up an incoming transmission," Alpha suddenly announced.

Onto the viewscreen came the revolting visage of Gasket.

"Thanks for tuning in, folks. I'd like to welcome all the kiddies at home to the main event," Gasket announced and moved aside so that the arena floor could be seen. The rangers all saw Jason and the creature sizing each other up, getting ready for the fight.

"I hope you enjoy the show," Gasket said with an evil laugh.

"We have to help him, he's all alone!" Tanya exclaimed.

"We're still working on pinpointing his location. We just have to hope that Jason can hold out until we find a way to help," Billy explained.

_____________________

Once the battle began, Jason was surprised at how well Altor anticipated his attacks.

'_He seems to know what I'm gonna do,'_ he thought, but he couldn't figure how that could be.

After he had picked himself up off the ground a couple of times and was still having all of his kicks and strikes blocked, he thought, _'Man, only Tommy's ever been able to match me move for move.'_

That's when the light dawned—Gasket had drained Tommy of his powers and transferred them into this creature. He had also given Tommy amnesia in the process.

"Tommy bro, are you in there?" he said in the direction of Altor.

"Tommy, is that you?"

Maybe it was a coincidence, but at nearly the same time as Jason deciphered what had happened, Gasket's creature began losing his ill-gotten powers. Jason was able to get in a few good kicks as it became apparent what was happening.

"Ha, you've lost Tommy's powers, haven't you?" he mocked Altor. The gold ranger was then able to easily defeat him.

Gasket, furious that his brain drain had worn off so quickly, turned to Tommy. He had to convince him to fight.

"Sire, it is now up to you. You must rejoin the fight to eliminate the scourge of the Power Rangers!"

Jason was desperate to reach his best friend before things escalated out of control. He could see this getting ugly.

"Tommy, listen to me—you're _not _their king—you're my best friend and my brother . . . more than that, even."

At the sound of Jason's voice calling his name, Tommy experienced a flash of recognition. Jason saw that he reacted when he called his name. Maybe, just maybe, he was getting through.

"Come on bro, they've got you brainwashed!" he shouted with a pleading tone to his voice.

Tommy began to hold his head as if he was in pain. "I'm so confused—why can't I remember anything?"

"What have you done to him, Gasket!" Jason demanded.

Gasket saw that his hold on the red Zeo ranger was slipping. He had to act fast.

"Sire, he is your enemy! Don't listen to him—he's an evil ranger and a criminal! You must defeat him, my king!"

For the moment, Tommy was convinced. "I will put an end to the Power Rangers—starting with you gold ranger!" Tommy snarled and pointed menacingly at Jason.

"I won't fight him and you can't force me!" Jason yelled back at Gasket.

"Then I guess you will be destroyed!" Gasket called back.

In the blink of an eye, Tommy went from standing in the viewing box to standing in front of Jason, ready to fight. They began circling slowly—it was evident that Jason didn't want to engage the man he loved in a battle. Besides, Jason had fought Tommy before when he was . . . not himself, and he had been one of the toughest foes he'd ever faced. This was going to prove difficult.

____________________

"This is unbelievable," Rocky declared as they watched the impending fight on the Power Chamber's viewscreen. All of the rangers had watched Tommy and Jason spar—no one but Billy had ever seen them actually fight. Not when one had every intention of hurting the other.

"What can Jason do? He's gotta defend himself!" Kat cried, sounding more than a little worried.

Billy spoke up. "He had better defend himself or I'm afraid Tommy will severely injure him."

"Did you notice before when Jason called Tommy's name? He seemed to remember—at least for a minute," Adam offered.

"He's gotta remember who his true friends are!" Tanya exclaimed.

"Any luck locking onto that signal? Jason needs help—he doesn't want to hurt Tommy," Rocky asked.

________________________

In the arena, Tommy finally made his move, coming at Jason full force with a series of punches and vicious kicks. The gold ranger blocked most everything—knowing what the other was going to do worked to _his_ advantage this time. The deluded red ranger tried again. This time he connected hard with Jason's head, knocking him to the ground. He got up slowly, shaking his head, but he wouldn't strike back.

"Come on, fight!" Tommy yelled.

Jason thought he saw a strange green glow surrounding Tommy, but thought it must be his eyes playing tricks. Tommy had just given him a hard shot to the head.

"I don't want to fight you, bro!"

"Because you know you cannot win, gold ranger," he proclaimed and attacked his dazed opponent once more. Jason tried to dodge his attack, but his judgement was off and Tommy landed a sidekick squarely to his ribs. The injured gold ranger dropped to one knee, clutching his side. He attempted to reach the red ranger once more.

"You've got it all wrong Tommy, would you listen to me? You're a ranger, just like me—you're my best friend."

Tommy paid him no heed. "I don't want to hear any more of your lies," Tommy shouted. He moved menacingly toward Jason again, the green aura becoming more and more visible . . .

________________________

"We've got to do something now—Jason's getting hurt," Adam said.

"And that green aura is back," Rocky noted.

TOMMY'S MEMORY OF YOUR FRIENDSHIP IS HIS ONLY CHANCE, BUT BE CAUTIOUS OF HIM, RANGERS. I BELIEVE HE IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN YOU KNOW.

"I have a lock! Rangers, morph and teleport to where the portal was. Hopefully, I can get you to the arena to help Jason," Billy announced.

Adam, Rocky, Katherine, and Tanya quickly did as he asked and they waited on the lakeshore for the Power Chamber to transport them. Unfortunately, their resident genius was having issues.

"Hang on guys, I've lost the lock," he said.

Gasket knew that the other rangers would be trying to stage a rescue attempt, so he ordered the holographic entryway closed. He had no idea that Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa had been watching the goings on and had decided to set their two enemies against each other. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? Finster's makeshift transporter had just enough power to land the four remaining rangers right in Gasket's metal lap. The prince was surprised, but recovered quickly.

"Rangers . . . no matter, we'll destroy them all at once."

In the ring, Jason had been managing to stay just ahead of Tommy attacks. When the other four showed up suddenly it interrupted the fight—Jason was relieved. Rocky ran up to the gold ranger who had knelt down to rest for a moment.

"Jase, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Out of breath, Jason answered as best he could. "I think I'm alright—just winded." He spoke to them all, "They've brainwashed him—he thinks we're his enemies."

"So the rest of the evil Power Rangers finally show up. Prepare to meet your end!" Tommy exclaimed and ran at them, ready to take them all on at once. The green glow was quite prominent now. Jason realized he hadn't been seeing things.

At first, the Zeo rangers held back, not wanting to hurt their leader, even if he didn't recognize them. They soon found out, however, that he wasn't going to hold back and if they didn't want to get their collective butts handed to them, they'd better fight. Male or female, didn't matter—there was nothing chivalrous about the way he flipped Tanya hard onto her back or spinning sidekicked Kat into Rocky, leaving them in a lump on the ground. He easily took them all down one by one until they had to regroup on the far end of the arena. They were getting their asses kicked by their own commander.

"What are we gonna do? He's too strong!" Adam said.

Jason was beginning to look a little worse for wear—he knew they needed another tactic . . . now. After a few moments in which he and Tommy stared each other down, he spoke. "I have an idea."

"This oughta be amusing," Tommy replied with sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Be careful," Kat said, having no idea what he was planning, but knew he could very well get hurt. Tommy was proving to be extremely dangerous.

Jason took a deep breath and stepped forward. He was counting on Tommy remembering what all they had been through together, what they meant to each other . . . how much they loved each other.

"Gold ranger—power down," he said and stood before Tommy completely vulnerable and at his mercy.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Adam asked, afraid Jason had made a rash decision. He was completely without protection now—Tommy could easily kill him.

"He has to see me . . . see us—he has to be confronted with the faces of his real friends," Jason answered.

Tommy was a bit taken aback by Jason's actions. "Do not try to deceive me!" Tommy barked and then he ran at Jason, fist cocked, ready to lay him out. But he couldn't do it—just as he was bearing down on him . . . he froze. He knew something was wrong with this situation, but he couldn't understand what it was. Jason seized the opportunity caused by Tommy's confusion and he pulled him into a tight embrace.

Jason spoke softly to him. "Tommy, don't do this—It's me, Jason."

Tommy's tone of voice changed. "Jason? What's going on? I don't understand. I feel like I know you but everything's fuzzy—I can't remember _anything_," Tommy said sounding so frustrated and confused. The aura had begun to disappear. He started to struggle against Jason's hold.

"Calm down—we're your friends, man. Prince Gasket has tricked you," Jason said soothingly.

The other rangers saw that Jason was beginning to get through to Tommy, so they decided to follow suit.

"This has to work," Adam said.

"Let's do it," Rocky agreed.

"Zeo Rangers—power down," Tanya, Adam, Rocky, and Katherine said in unison.

"We're here to help you, Tommy," Tanya said and cautiously advanced toward him.

Tommy broke free from Jason's embrace and held his head. "I don't know who I can believe!"

The internal struggle was getting the best of him. He seemed to be in pain as he fought with himself, trying to decide who to trust. He thought he remembered Jason, especially when he felt his arms around him and heard his voice up close, but . . . he was still so disoriented.

'_Are the rangers evil or not? Are they my enemies as Gasket says, or my friends like the gold ranger says?'_

Anxiety was overtaking him. He dropped to his knees and grabbed his head again.

"What-is-wrong-with-me?!" he pleaded. "I don't understand!" Tommy cried and slammed his fists to the ground.

His friends stood back and looked at their leader sympathetically. They wanted so badly to help him somehow. Just as they seemed to be getting through though, the delusion returned and Tommy quickly pulled his blaster on them and stood, threatening them once more. He moved in front of Jason and pointed the weapon right at his chest. The gold ranger looked intently at his friend. Outwardly, he showed no fear.

"I know you're in there, bro."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tommy replied, but his resolve was weakening. Jason could hear it in his voice. The confusion was finally giving way to recognition. He bravely put his hands on the blaster that was aimed at his heart and pushed it down.

"Come back to me, Dragon. I love you," Jason told Tommy in his warmest voice and looked straight at him, eyes full of the deep emotion he felt for the man who stood in front of him.

The light finally broke through into Tommy's darkened mind and he remembered everything. "Power down," the red Zeo ranger suddenly said.

"Jason? I'm so sorry . . . I don't . . ." he tried to voice his sorrow for what he'd done.

The gold ranger quickly embraced Tommy. "It's okay, bro. We'll talk later," Jason said softly, knowing that Tommy was remorseful, but also knowing that they had to get out of there.

"How touching," Gasket snarled.

Tommy whirled around and stood facing his enemy with his true friends behind him. "I know the truth now, Gasket—and I'm leaving with my friends."

"Oh, not yet, you're not," he said to the ranger leader and then addressed his minions that surrounded him.

"Monsters, cogs—join me!" he directed and several of the throng that had been watching the ranger battle suddenly appeared in the ring along with the prince.

The rangers tried to morph, but the surrounding force field blocked their morphing powers. They stood there in civilian form, with no weapons, no armour, and no powers. They were at a loss as to what to do.

To their good fortune, Gasket's force field was disabled right about then, and they knew they could finally transport out.

Jason couldn't resist a parting shot. "You mess with one ranger, you better be ready to take on the whole team!" he shouted at Gasket just before they teleported to safety.

____________________

As soon as they were back in the Power Chamber, Jason turned immediately to Tommy and took him by the shoulders.

"Are you okay, baby?" he asked while looking intently into his chocolate eyes.

"I . . . I think so." Tommy was still a bit disoriented. He shook his head and looked around at his team who had gathered around him.

"Guys . . . awww man. I'm so sorry. Did I hurt anyone?"

Everyone indicated that they were fine, just a little sore in some cases. Tommy seemed quite remorseful and a bit embarrassed, but all of his friends knew that he wasn't to blame.

On the way to the med bay to let Alpha do some tests, Tommy turned to Jason.

"How many times does this make that I've either been put under an evil spell, hypnotized, or brainwashed? This is getting ridiculous—I must be soft in the head."

"No, not at all. Zordon says that you're just more susceptible because of Rita's initial spell. There's nothing you could have done," Jason said reassuringly and put an arm around Tommy's waist.

Tommy sighed, hanging his head. "I guess."

They stopped outside the med bay door. Jason leaned against the wall and held Tommy by the waist. He made him look him in the eyes.

"Stop the self-imposed guilt trip before it gets started, okay? There's nothing you could have done, I'm sure." He paused. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah, I remember most of it, actually. And you're right, there's really nothing I could have done. It's just . . ." he lowered his head again.

Jason reached up and with two fingers, lifted the red ranger's chin. "It's just what?" he said softly.

Tommy looked back at his bro with anguish in his eyes. "Why is it always _me_, Jase?"

Jason stopped and really thought about that for a minute. _'Why _is_ it always Tommy?'_

He tried to give Tommy the explanation that he so desperately wanted. "Well, Rita chose you to be her green ranger because you are a fierce and capable fighter—you're one of the toughest _I've_ ever faced. Other times, like this, you were the one snatched because you're an important person—you're the ranger commander . . . and you're important to all of us because you're our close friend. If you weren't so good at what you do and so important to the people around you, these villains wouldn't bother with ya, babe. It's sort of a backhanded compliment, I guess."

Tommy gave him a funny look. "I can do without those kinds of compliments, thank you very much."

Jason grinned. "Get on in there and let Alpha do what he needs to so we can get outta here, okay?"

Tommy leaned forward and embraced his boyfriend. "Okay. I'll tell him to hurry."

"Well, let him be thorough, okay? I don't want him to miss anything."

"Alright. See you in a few." With that he kissed Jason quickly and went through the door into the med bay.

Jason turned quickly and hurried to find Billy while Tommy was occupied. There was something he had to talk over with their resident genius.

____________________

"And no one told me this _why_?!" Jason exclaimed. "You guys didn't think I needed to know?!"

"Jase, calm down. Please," Billy implored. "This is only the second time that the green aura has manifested itself. The first time it happened you were far too injured to talk to you about it."

"That was over a week ago. Someone could have filled me in since then."

"Jason, I honestly thought you knew. I guess I assumed Billy or Zordon or Alpha had told you. I'm sorry," Adam said, seeing how put out the gold ranger was.

"Same here—a breakdown in communication, that's all, but I do need to talk to you about it."

"Yeah . . . I'd say," Jason shot back. He couldn't believe that something as major as this could have happened and no one told him. "About time, too," he grumbled.

Adam didn't quite understand Jason's attitude. "Jase, we didn't mean to not tell you—we weren't keeping it from you or anything. Billy's been on Triforia, ya know."

"Adam, no offense, but I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation. Maybe if you'd had a powerful, evil ranger standing over you with every intention of stabbing you in the chest with a sword you might understand a little better. If that evil power is trying to possess Tommy again, I need to know. I sleep in the same bed with that man, you know."

Adam frowned at the gold ranger—he didn't like being talked to like that, but he did realize that Jason had a point.

"You're right. Now what do we do about it?"

"I've talked to Zordon about it and he's very concerned. We're hoping that the tests Alpha is doing right now will tell us something," Billy said.

"Billy, I don't understand. I thought the green ranger powers were lost. I watched Tommy suffer as the power left him. How could this happen? And is it the evil aspect of the power or not?"

"Well, as much as I am able to understand, the powers that a ranger possesses are neither good nor evil. The person who uses them makes that determination. Because the green ranger powers came to Tommy through Rita's evil magic, Tommy used the power to do her evil bidding. The power itself wasn't evil. Since Tommy is a good person, he was able to use the power for good purposes after Rita's spell over him was broken."

They were all listening quite intently. Billy gathered his thoughts for the rest of the explanation.

"Now, as to how the power has survived when we thought it was lost: Zordon, quite frankly, isn't being all that forthcoming. He told me that the power never truly leaves someone once it has been entrusted to them. It becomes a part of you and you never truly, completely lose it. You may not be able to call on it anymore in order to morph or whatever, but it still lies within you. Jase, you still possess the power of the T-Rex. Adam, you retain the power of the Mastodon, and I still have the Triceratops power. It is deep within us, but in theory, we could call it forward. Maybe not to morph, but . . ." he saw the surprised and confused looks on the guys' faces.

"Look, I don't claim to really understand all of this. I only know what Zordon will tell me and he's being kind of vague. Maybe it's beyond my understanding—I don't know. The thing is, Tommy is on his 4th set of powers. Could that potentially cause him problems? Yes. Will it? I don't know. I don't think Zordon knows."

Adam thought this over. He himself had possessed the Mastodon powers, the black ninjetti powers and now, the green Zeo powers. Was he in danger of experiencing side effects too? Granted, he had never been turned evil, but still . . . He made a mental note to talk with Billy and Zordon later, when things had calmed down a bit.

"Jase, do you think we should tell Tommy?" Billy asked.

"Hmmm . . . I don't know. On one hand, he has the right to know if something is happening to him, but on the other hand . . . Tommy being Tommy—it might have a bad effect on him." He stopped and considered their options. "Why don't we wait to see what these tests show and then we'll decide. Until then, we'll just have to keep an eye on him."

"Sounds reasonable. Billy, are there any similarities in the two incidents which caused the green aura?" Adam inquired.

"Actually, it's difficult to say what _caused_ the aura to manifest itself, but the two incidents in which it occurred were similar in one important way. Tommy was absolutely enraged, both times. The first time, he was avenging Jason. He took that monster apart because it had hurt the one he loves." Billy looked over at Jason with a small smile.

"This time, even though he had been brainwashed, he believed he was fighting an important battle—to rid the universe of a great evil. You guys are very lucky that the effects of the brain drain wore off when they did. I seriously think he might have done something he wouldn't be able to live with if it hadn't."

Jason gave them a serious look and nodded slowly. He had no idea how Tommy would ever be able to forgive himself if he had seriously hurt or killed one of his teammates. And they all knew now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he could do it. Jason figured that he himself was the only one who could stand up to Tommy, and that was just because of brute strength. That and knowing what he was going to do most of the time.

'_But he nearly kicked my ass this time—he's stronger than even I knew.'_

That worried Jason a bit—he thought that maybe he needed to train harder.

They all heard the doors 'whoosh' open and turned to see Tommy walking in, looking completely normal and healthy, though a bit tired. Jason tried to erase the serious thoughts from his mind. His bro could read him too well.

"How'd it go with the tests?" he said, trying not to sound worried.

"Oh, fairly well, I guess." He rubbed the back of his neck—a nervous habit he'd had for a long time—a sure sign that he was concerned about the results.

"Alpha said he would tell me if anything was abnormal. He sure did a lot of tests . . ."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, bro. Try not to worry, okay?"

"Yeah," Tommy responded, not sounding at all convinced.

Adam noticed that Tommy didn't quite seem himself. "Tommy, are you okay?"

"Ummm . . . I guess so. I'm just tired . . . and my head hurts."

"Let's go home so you can rest, okay?" Jason offered. He gave Billy a look that said, 'I'll keep an eye on him' and they teleported out.

Adam and Billy turned and looked at each other. Adam read the look on the former blue ranger's face perfectly.

"You're still worried, aren't you?"

"Yeah, Adam. I am."

"He seems fine—just tired."

Billy sighed. He needed to talk to someone about this. Adam was trustworthy; he knew that, he just wasn't sure if he should give voice to his fears.

"Come on, Billy. I'm a good listener."

"I know. It's just . . . well . . ." Billy paused and looked the green Zeo ranger in the face. "I am afraid that our friend Tommy has a dark side that could be very dangerous. Zordon believes this too." He stopped and paced about the Power Chamber. Finally, he looked back up at Adam.

"The question is, what needs to be done about it?"

__________________________

_Author's Notes: Sorry about the delay, but it couldn't be helped. The convention was great and Jason David Frank is still a sweetheart! There are a few new pics up on my MySpace (link on my profile) with more to come._

_Next chapter: Will Gasket's brain drain have any lasting effects on our Tommy?_

_Please leave a review! At the time of this writing, the last chapter has received 135 hits and only 6 reviews. That's quite a discrepancy! Please hit the little button below and let me know what you think—I'd really appreciate it!!_


	22. Residual Effects

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Thank you so much to my regular reviewers: Morphin' In, JasonLeeScottFan, Crazy Joe, prophet144, Makia Durron, serenity 1806. If I've forgotten anyone, forgive me. I love you guys—thank you so much for your support!

**Chapter 22—Residual Effects**

"This is Tommy, go ahead."

"Please report to the Power Chamber," Alpha responded.

"Okay. I'll be right there."

Jason looked across the desk at his boyfriend. "Think it's the test results?"

"I hope so; it's been two days."

"Want me to come with?" Jason offered.

"Ummm, yeah . . . I do," Tommy said, sounding a bit nervous.

"Well, no use putting it off." Jason stood and walked around to Tommy. He pulled him into a tight embrace and gave him a quick kiss. "Let's go."

They both teleported out of Jason's bedroom and into the main control room of the Power Chamber where Alpha awaited them.

Tommy nervously approached Alpha. "Ummm, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes Tommy—Billy, Zordon, and I have been going over your test results and we wanted to tell you what we found."

"Is . . . is something wrong, Alpha?" Tommy stammered.

"Billy will talk to you about it. He's waiting in the med bay."

"Umm . . . okay. Thanks."

Jason saw how worried his love had become. He tried his best to calm him as they walked down the corridor.

"Stop worrying until you know you have something to worry about, bro. You feel fine, don't you?"

"Yeah, I suppose. I keep having headaches and I'm a little jumpier than usual, but . . . nothing other than that."

"I'm sure you're fine. Let's just talk to Billy and then we'll go to the Youth Center and get a smoothie, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

The two rangers walked through the door together and found Billy sitting at the desk with several printouts in front of him. He looked up and greeted them.

"Oh, hey guys. Have a seat," he said, motioning to the chairs across the desk from him.

Jason and Tommy sat and looked intently at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Tommy, first let me say that Alpha asked me to talk to you about these test results because he thought that I would be easier for you to talk to—to try to answer any questions you might have."

Tommy's face had become absolutely grim. "Billy, just give it to me straight—what did the tests show? Is there something wrong with me?"

Jason placed a strong hand on Tommy's thigh—he could feel his boyfriend trembling.

"Tommy, for the most part, the tests came back completely normal. Your brain waves have returned to normal—they match the baseline readings taken before you were exposed to Gasket's brain drain. The damage you sustained in the accident is, of course, still there, but it hasn't worsened."

"That's good," Jason offered in support.

"How's your memory? Any problems?" Billy asked.

"No more than usual," Tommy grinned.

"We are concerned that your nervous system has been affected, though. Have you noticed any symptoms in the last couple of days?"

"The only thing different that I've noticed since the accident or the brain drain is that I've had a lot of headaches, I'm tired a lot, and I seem jumpier than I used to be. I think I'm developing a nervous twitch in my left arm."

"That's probably the nervous system damage I was referring to. I'm not sure about the headaches and fatigue, though."

"Could the damage you're talking about cause anything worse?" Jason asked.

"Difficult to say. It's not terribly severe, but it is noticeable on the readouts. It may be something that we'll just have to wait and see. Be sure to tell us if you notice anything new, okay?"

"Okay, I will. Is that all you found?" Tommy asked, feeling a bit relieved.

"Yes, that's it. You're completely fit, except for that."

"Whew. I just knew you were going to tell me something awful. Thanks Billy."

"You're welcome. I'm glad everything's okay, Tommy."

"You and me both," Tommy replied.

As they were getting up to leave, Adam came hurrying into the room, nearly out of breath. "Billy, sorry I'm late, I . . ." He paused when he noticed Jason and Tommy. "Oh, hey guys. Am I interrupting something?"

"No, we were just leaving. Billy gave me the results of the tests Alpha did a couple of days ago."

"And . . . you're okay, right?" the green Zeo ranger asked apprehensively.

Adam had grown very close to and quite fond of Tommy in the nearly two years that he'd known him. He had been somewhat worried about him ever since he'd gotten hurt on that awful afternoon.

"Yeah, pretty much. The tests just showed stuff I already knew about plus some nervous system damage."

Adam's eyes widened a bit. "Really?"

"Yeah, but Billy says it's not severe."

"Well, that's good," Adam said, trying to smile.

"What are you doing here, anyway? You helping Billy with something?"

"Yeah. He asked me to work on the zords with him."

Jason, who had been standing quietly beside Tommy, spoke up. "Adam, can I speak to you for a minute?"

"Ummm, sure Jason."

They walked out into the hallway together—Tommy and Billy exchanged questioning looks.

As soon as the doors closed, Adam turned to look at the gold ranger. _'I wonder what this is about. Maybe there's something they're not telling Tommy.'_

Jason stared at the floor for a second, formulating what he wanted to say. Finally, he looked up at Adam who had become a bit anxious.

"Adam, I need to apologize to you."

"Huh?" This is not what he was expecting at all. "Apologize for what?"

"The other day when you, Billy, and I were talking about . . ." he paused and looked around. ". . . about the green aura—I realized later how I must have come off to you."

"You were worried about Tommy, I understand that."

"Still, that's no excuse. I'm sorry for being a jerk." Jason placed a hand on Adam's shoulder.

"It's okay, Jase. You were right, I really don't understand the green ranger stuff. I've tried in the past to get Tommy to tell me about it, but he just won't do it."

"Maybe I can get him to talk to you. After all, we promised you and Rocky at the party that we would all sit down together and have a talk, right?"

"That's right, you did," Adam said, suddenly remembering that conversation. "Think you can make him do it?"

"Probably," Jason smiled.

"Was Tommy telling me the truth about the tests?"

"Hmmm? Yeah, that's what Billy said. Why?"

"And you guys aren't keeping anything from him, are you?"

"No . . . nothing other than the green aura thing, anyway."

"Okay. I've just been worried about Tommy lately, that's all."

"You know, he told me several times while I was in Switzerland what a good friend you are to him and how much he likes having you on the team. I can see what he was talking about."

Adam smiled warmly. "Well, he's a great guy and a good friend—you are too. I'm glad we've gotten to know each other better since you came back."

Jason matched his smile. "Thanks, I'm glad too."

The gold ranger thought he saw a flash of something in Adam's warm, dark eyes, but he wasn't sure what to make of it. Maybe he was imagining things . . .

___________________

Several days later, Tommy was still dealing with headaches, and now he was losing a lot of sleep. His mom was still on his back about school, even though Tommy was getting caught up and his grades were pretty good. They had gotten into it a couple of times over something else, as well.

David had been keeping much closer tabs on his 'baby brother' since Tommy had gotten out of the hospital. He had even visited him at home, much to Mrs. Oliver's chagrin.

Tommy just didn't know what to do about it anymore. He wasn't about to shut out his only brother, but his mom was making life unbearable at home. He spent as much time as possible at Jason's house—the atmosphere was so much friendlier there. As a matter of fact, that's where Tommy was happiest. He loved Jason's parents and felt so envious of their tight knit family. Not at all like at his house . . .

He wasn't even free of everything at night—the red ranger was having nightmares again. He had managed to go quite a while without reliving his green ranger past through his dreams, but the brain drain experience had brought a lot of it back—and now it was worse. Gasket had twisted and intensified his memories making them even more unbearable than before.

One night when Tommy was staying over at Jason's, he had one of these horrible dreams. The gold ranger was awakened by Tommy's thrashing and murmuring in his sleep.

"No . . . no, I won't . . . Jase . . . move, please!"

Jason reached over and rubbed Tommy's arm. "Hey, wake up bro." He didn't want to startle him too much. Tommy was deep into this dream.

"No! Jase . . . oh god . . . I'm sorry . . ." he whined in his sleep and continued to toss and turn. ". . . didn't happen that way!" he moaned.

Jason tried again to gently wake him. "Tommy, come on, wake up. It's just a dream," he said as he rubbed his chest.

All at once, Tommy yelled "Jase!" and sat nearly straight up in bed, a frightened look on his face. He was panting and grasping the bedsheet with both fists. His bro sat up beside him and pulled him close, rocking him back and forth.

"Shhh . . . it was just a dream. It's over now."

Tommy leaned into him, still breathing hard. Jason heard him sniffle once or twice. Pulling back and turning Tommy's face up, he looked closely at him in the dimly lit room. He could just barely see a couple of tears roll down his love's handsome face.

"Aww, it's okay."

He knew by what he could make out of Tommy's murmuring which dream it was that had plagued him that night. He lifted one of Tommy's hands up to his chest and held it to his heart.

"See? I'm fine. No wound there . . . there never was. It's just a messed up nightmare, okay?"

Tommy slowly nodded and sniffled again. To Jason, he looked like a scared little boy—it hurt him to see his baby like this. He put a strong arm around his shoulders and laid back down, pulling Tommy with him. They snuggled together with Tommy's head on Jason's chest. The gold ranger talked softly to his bro, playing with his hair and stroking his back. Tommy didn't move his hand from Jason's heart until after he'd fallen asleep. Jason wouldn't allow himself to drift off until he was sure Tommy was peacefully sleeping again. It was nice to be needed. Incidents like this confirmed that he had done the right thing in not going back to Geneva.

_________________

His friends were noticing too how stressed and tired Tommy looked. A couple of times when the rangers were called on, they tried to convince him to stay at the Power Chamber—they would call if they needed him. He refused, of course.

"If this is going to be my team, then I'm going to lead it!" he had said, getting perturbed at them.

No one dared mention it again, but they all implored Jason to talk to him. It was clear that he was worn out and on edge—they were worried about their commander. The gold ranger said he'd try, but they all knew how bullheaded he could be.

One way Jason knew for sure that Tommy was preoccupied and all stressed out: His boyfriend had no interest in fooling around with him. He couldn't get more than a chaste kiss out of him. Ever since Gasket had taken him . . . it was like a switch had been flipped. It was seriously worrying the gold ranger.

And the stress just kept getting ratcheted up. At home one evening, Tommy was called to the phone by his mom. She gave him the receiver with the direction to 'be nice'. Putting the phone to his ear, he heard a voice he hadn't thought he'd hear again.

"Tommy? Hi . . . it's Kim."

'_What the hell does _she_ want?'_

"Yeah."

"Umm . . . how are you?" she asked nervously.

"Fine." He wasn't going to make this easy for her.

'_Why do you care?'_

"Good. The girls have been keeping me informed about how you've been, but I thought it was time to find out for myself. I've been worried about you."

"Funny way of showing it," he mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. Like I said, I'm fine," he said tersely.

"Katherine said you've been having a lot of headaches and seem really tired."

"Did she?"

"Yeah, she did. Are you really alright, handsome?"

'_How dare she call me that?!'_

He tried to hold his tongue. "I'm just stressed—lots of homework and other stuff going on. You know, the usual."

"Yeah. I hear you guys have been kept busy lately," referring to Gasket running the rangers ragged over the past two weeks.

"Definitely. Kim, did you want something specific? I'm busy with a project for school."

"Umm, well . . . I guess I just wanted to see how you were."

"I'm okay, Kim. Nothing I can't handle."

"I'll let you go then. Take care, Tommy."

He sighed. "Yeah, you too."

He hung up wondering what had prompted her to call—just out of the blue like that.

'_Whatever.'_

Tommy tried to dismiss it from his mind, but it gnawed at him. Hearing her voice again had reawakened feelings for her that he thought died with that damn letter.

'_I don't care about her—I love Jase,'_ he repeated to himself. But try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking about her and it was pissing him off.

'_She broke my heart—callously. I was in a coma in Intensive Care and she didn't even hang around to see whether I'd live or die. She waits this long to call and check on me. Why can't I get her out of my mind?! Dammit!'_

Irritated, he got little sleep that night.

_________________

Next day, he talked to Jason about Kim's call.

"I can't figure out why she'd call like that. I shouldn't've even talked to her."

"Maybe she really is worried about you, bro," Jason offered. He was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Yeah well . . . maybe it's too little too late," Tommy replied.

He really did love Jason—truly and deeply. He knew that. These thoughts about Kim were just an irritant, nothing more, but irritants were not something he needed right now.

After school, the boys went back to Jason's house to work on a project for history class. After they'd been at it for a while, Jason looked across the desk at Tommy. He really did look very tired and stressed.

"You okay, bro?"

Tommy looked up and met his gaze. "Hmm? Yeah, why?"

"You just don't seem yourself today, that's all."

"I'm alright," he sighed. "I still can't get rid of this freakin' headache."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Why don't you take something for it? There's lots of medicine in the bathroom."

"Okay, I will—in a few minutes."

Tommy continued working on the paragraph he'd been writing. Eventually though, the pounding in his temples became too much to ignore and he got up to go find some relief.

He had barely gotten halfway across the room though, when he started to feel . . . strange. He was shaking inside like he was really nervous—he brought his hands up to look at them—they were shaking too.

'_What the hell?'_

He took a couple more steps and the shaking hit his knees—he suddenly felt very weak. He looked for something to grab to steady himself, but there was nothing. Tommy felt like he was going to pass out.

"Jase . . ." he managed to say just above a whisper.

Jason looked up to see Tommy swaying like he was going to hit the floor. He sprang up from his chair, knocking it over and pulling books and papers into the floor. He caught his bro in his arms just as he dropped to his knees.

"Tommy, what's wrong?!"

He looked so pale and he had broken out into a sweat. Jason felt Tommy shaking as he held him. The red ranger couldn't speak--he looked at his bro with utter fear in his eyes, and managed a few whimpers. He had no idea what was happening to him and he was scared.

Jason felt the shaking of Tommy's body increasing and felt him tensing up. When he completely collapsed and his eyes starting rolling back, Jason's lifeguard training kicked in—he knew Tommy was having a seizure. He looked around quickly for something to put in his mouth. He laid him down carefully and grabbed the belt from his gi that was hanging nearby and worked it in between Tommy's clenching teeth.

The tremors were getting much worse—his whole body was convulsing and shaking. The gold ranger drew upon his training, even though he was scared. He had to help Tommy now, he could fall apart later. He lay down beside him and held his arms down as best he could. He threw one powerful leg over Tommy's and tried to hold him to keep Tommy from hurting himself.

Jason could hear Tommy's ragged breathing—it wasn't normal, but at least he was still breathing. A few groans were the only sounds he made. Jason made sure that the belt was still in his mouth—his head was shaking and thrashing from side to side.

"Tommy, you're going to be okay. I know you're scared, but I'm here. It's gonna be okay, bro."

Jason didn't know if Tommy could really hear him or who he was trying to convince, but talking to him had done the trick before.

Finally, the spasms began to subside and Tommy's tense body started to relax. He moaned again. Jason took he belt from his mouth and checked his pulse.

'_Fast, but steady.'_

He listened to his breathing.

'_Kind of shallow, but regular. Good.'_

"Mom!" Jason yelled. "I need you!"

He tried to get Tommy to respond to him—he patted his face and shook him gently. "Tommy! Bro . . ." The red ranger was unconscious.

Mrs. Scott came in the room just then. "Oh my god, Jason--what's wrong?"

"He had a seizure. Call an ambulance," Jason directed as he continued to try to wake Tommy. His own hands were shaking as he bent over his sick best friend.

"Tommy, please. Make some noise for me."

Theresa Scott dialled 911 and requested an ambulance as her son had asked.

"Is he okay, Jason?"

"His breathing and pulse are regular, but he's unconscious." He turned back to Tommy.

"Please, bro. Wake up."

"What else can I do?" asked Jason's mom.

"Get me a really cold wet rag and a glass of water."

She ran into Jason's bathroom and ran the tap until it was as cold as it was going to get. She then brought the washcloth to Jason and went downstairs to get the water.

Tommy began making some noise and moving his head when Jason wiped his face with the cold rag.

"That's it. Come on bro, wake up," Jason said gently, but his voice was still shaking.

Tommy's eyes fluttered and opened. He looked up at Jason, seeming dazed and scared.

"Wh-what . . ." he tried to speak, but couldn't manage it.

"Shhh, don't try to talk. It's okay. Just move your head. Do you know who I am?"

Tommy nodded.

"Good. Do you know where you are?"

Tommy nodded again.

"Good." Jason carefully lifted him from the floor and laid him gently on his bed.

"It's over now, just rest," he said while continuing to wipe his face. He got Tommy to drink a little water and stayed with him while his mom went out to flag down the ambulance. He groaned in pain a couple of times.

"My whole body hurts," he whined. Jason nodded and rubbed his arms.

He was checking Tommy's pulse again when they heard the siren approaching the house.

"Is that for me?" he asked weakly.

Jason nodded. "Shhh, you're okay. Rest."

Tommy might not have been thinking clearly, but he knew that if an ambulance had been called, he wasn't 'okay'.

"What happened?" he finally managed to ask.

Jason knew that if he told him, it would just frighten him. He was trying to keep him calm. Tommy wanted to know, though. He grabbed Jason's t-shirt and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Jase . . . tell me!"

The gold ranger sighed. "You had a mild seizure."

'_I don't know if I'd call it mild, but maybe it'll keep him from freaking out.'_

Nope.

"Seizure?!" Tommy gasped, his eyes getting wider and his breathing growing quicker.

Jason patted his chest, trying to calm him when they heard several heavy footfalls on the steps. The EMTs appeared in the doorway seconds later. Jason got up and moved away from the bed, giving them access to their patient. He stayed in sight of Tommy, though.

While two of the medics worked on Tommy, Jason answered the questions of the other. He told them about the accident and the head injury, and about the headaches he'd been experiencing lately. He left out the part about Gasket's brain drain device obviously, but wished he could tell them. Something told him that it had contributed to this.

He explained what he had done when he realized what was happening, and how Tommy had acted since he regained consciousness.

"You've been trained well," the medic told Jason, asking him if he was in med school.

"No, I'm still in high school—I was trained as a lifeguard a couple of summers ago."

"Well, you should consider being an EMT. We could use a big guy like you."

Jason smiled and told him he'd think about it. He continued to watch Tommy closely as he talked. After a few minutes, they brought the stretcher up the steps and prepared to take Tommy to the hospital for tests. He had calmed a bit, but really didn't want to go back to that hospital.

"Tommy, you have to go as a precaution. I'll come with you, okay?" Jason offered.

He sighed and nodded. Since he was a minor, he really couldn't refuse treatment anyway. After being put on the stretcher and strapped down, the EMTs carefully took him down the stairs and out to the waiting ambulance.

Driving up the street on his way home, Rocky had seen the ambulance sitting in the driveway of Jason's house. He parked on the street and ran across the lawn just as the medics were bringing Tommy out the front door.

"Tommy?" he asked worriedly as soon as he recognized him. At a glance, the red ranger looked awful—pale, eyes closed, and wearing an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. Jason exited the house right behind the medics and the anxious blue Zeo ranger grabbed his arm.

"What's wrong with Tommy, Jason?!"

Jason was surprised to see Rocky on his porch.

"Rocky, hey. He had a seizure . . ." he sighed, his voice sounding quite worried.

"Oh no, poor Tommy. What next?"

"Don't ask that, man," Jason said shaking his head, but he had wondered the same thing.

"Is he okay?" he asked, walking with Jason over to the ambulance.

"I think so. They'll do some tests at the hospital to make sure."

"Want me to come with? I can," Rocky offered.

Jason smiled weakly. "Sure. You can follow us if you want." He was growing more and more fond of Rocky—and Adam.

Jason accompanied Tommy in the ambulance as Tommy made it clear that he wouldn't go without him. Mrs. Scott said she would call the Olivers and meet them at the Emergency Room. Rocky jumped back in his car and followed them to Angel Grove Memorial.

_______________________

"I'm okay, I think," Tommy said in response to Jason's question.

Rocky and Jason were allowed to stay with him for a while until his parents arrived. Jason made up his mind to stay by Tommy's side regardless.

'_I'm sure he'd rather have me here than them anyway.'_

He interlaced their fingers and squeezed Tommy's hand a little. His reassuring touch helped to keep his bro calm.

"Rocky? Where'd you come from?" the red ranger asked when it dawned on him that it had only been he and Jason together earlier.

"I was driving by Jason's house and saw the ambulance. When he told me what happened, I wanted to come along and make sure you were okay."

Tommy smiled weakly at the blue ranger. "Thanks."

"Have you ever had a seizure before?" Rocky asked.

Tommy shook his head, looking anxious.

Finally, a doctor came in and began asking questions and looking Tommy over. Jason repeated a lot of what he'd told the EMTs.

"We'll do some tests to see if there's been any damage, okay?" the doctor told Tommy.

"Is that likely?" Tommy asked apprehensively.

"Seizures can cause damage, yes, but we won't know for sure until we see the test results."

Tommy nodded. "Another MRI, I suppose."

"Yeah. That and a couple of others. Just sit tight—someone will come for you shortly."

Tommy didn't seem frightened by the prospect of the 'torpedo tube' as he called it. He knew his bro would be with him and that made it alright.

As soon as the Olivers showed up at the hospital and signed the consent forms, Tommy was taken for the tests the doctor had ordered. It took some convincing, but Jason was eventually allowed to accompany him.

"It's in his chart from when he was here before—look it up, okay?" the gold ranger had told the tech when he tried to stop him from going with his bro.

"Unless you want him coming off that table, you'll let me in."

___________________

Tommy's parents were waiting for him when he was brought back from Radiology. His demeanour changed as soon as he caught sight of them.

"Hi Honey, how're you feeling?" Margaret asked.

"Okay . . . tired," Tommy mumbled.

"How'd the tests go, son?" Michael asked.

"Fine. Just like last time."

Jason spoke up. "He did really well—no problems."

The gold ranger was having trouble looking at the Olivers without remembering what Tommy had told him that day at the park. All the crap that they had put him through came back to mind as he stood there with them face to face.

'_How dare they even act like they care! And that's what it is—an act!'_

His anger continued to build as he listened to the strained conversation. Luckily, the doctor walked back in before Jason said something he shouldn't have. This time it was Tommy's neurologist from before, Dr. Jennings. He had been called in because he was familiar with Tommy's case.

"Just couldn't stay away, huh?" the doctor joked and patted Tommy's shoulder.

The red ranger grumbled. "Somethin' like that, I guess."

"Well, at least I have good news for you. I've compared the tests we just did to the last ones you had before you left us a few weeks ago. There was no change—the seizure didn't cause any damage. Now, this seizure could be an after-effect of the head injury you sustained, though I'm not sure why it took so long to manifest itself."

'_Wonder if a brain drain device would do it?'_ Jason thought to himself. He surmised that most of the blame for this belonged to Gasket.

"So what could have caused it to happen now? Did Tommy do something to bring this on?" Mrs. Oliver asked.

Tommy shot a look at his mother that everyone saw, including the doctor.

'_Sure, it's _my_ fault. Of course it is.'_

"No, it's doubtful that he could've caused this. Outside influences are more likely to blame. We're almost certain that the seizure was transient in nature—not related to a seizure disorder like epilepsy." He turned to Tommy. "You said that you've been tired a lot and having frequent headaches, right?"

Tommy nodded.

"Any fever or body aches?"

"No."

"How about stress?"

Tommy didn't even have to think about that one. "Oh yeah. Lots of that," he said and cut his eyes toward his mom.

"I see," was all Dr. Jennings said. He could sense the tension between Tommy and his parents and it wasn't the first time. When he treated Tommy before he had sensed the same thing. Tommy would hardly look in their direction and they didn't seem to be trying too hard to comfort him.

"Tommy, if it's okay with you, I'd like to talk to you alone."

The red ranger gave him a surprised look, but agreed. "Umm, sure."

The Olivers didn't seem to like that too much, if the looks on their faces were anything to go by. They told Tommy they'd be out in the waiting room and reluctantly turned and left.

Jason got up slowly with a worried look. "You'll be okay, Tommy?"

"Yeah. I'll see you in a little while," Tommy said to his bro.

Jason turned and gave him another look.

"Jase, I'm a big boy—I'll be fine—go."

Dr. Jennings sat in the chair recently vacated by Jason and looked intently at him. Tommy felt a little uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Tommy, I wanted to talk to you alone so that you could say whatever you needed to without worrying about your parents hearing. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"Ummm . . . like what?" Tommy asked, unsure of exactly what the doctor was getting at.

"Well, let's start with the stress you said you've been under. What's causing that?"

"Mostly school, I guess. I missed a lot when I was in the hospital and I've been trying to get caught up. I _have_ to graduate this Spring."

"How's that going?"

"Okay, but apparently not good enough for Mom."

"Problems at home?" Dr. Jennings voice was calm and compassionate.

"You could say that," Tommy said, looking away.

"Would you like to talk to someone about it—a professional, I mean."

"What? Like a shrink? No thanks. I've had my fill of them."

"You've had sessions with a psychiatrist before, then?"

'_Oops. Now I've done it.'_

"Umm yeah, but it was years ago. I don't need that anymore."

"How about a counsellor? It's a lot more casual and I think it would do you some good."

"I'd rather not, Dr. Jennings. I have a good friend that I can talk to. That seems to help me more."

"The young man that was just here?"

"Yeah, Jason."

"I remember him from before. I'm glad you have him, but I still think you need to talk to a professional—Jason can come with you, if you like."

Tommy shook his head. "No—I really don't want to."

He wasn't just being difficult—he had a reason—a good reason. Tommy knew how shrinks operated and how upset he got when talking to them. He was worried that in the wrong state of mind he might accidentally reveal something ranger-related. That, and he just didn't like talking about personal stuff with a complete stranger.

Doctor Jennings sighed. He knew Tommy needed this, but he was having trouble convincing him of that. He _was_ nearly 18 and really couldn't be forced to do this, but the good doctor had an ace up his sleeve.

"Tommy, I didn't want to have to do it this way, but here are the bare facts: You need to do this. I can feel the tension when your parents are in the room. Maybe it's normal teenager/parent stuff, but I don't think so. I've examined you and compared notes with your other doctor—it's all right here in your chart. You're not a little boy, you're a man, so I'm going to give it to you straight: You have evidence of multiple injuries on your body, old and new--too many to be explained away. Scars, healed bone fractures, a bit of nerve damage—not to mention that lovely matching set of scars on your wrists . . ." he reached over and picked up Tommy's hand and turned it over. Tommy jerked his hand away, embarrassed. He wouldn't look at the doctor.

His voice soft and gentle when he spoke again, he said, "Tommy, let someone help you. Give this a chance. I have a wonderful counsellor in mind who is at the top of her profession. She's a really nice woman who can help you with all this stress and whatever else you want to tell her. Look, just because _this_ seizure didn't cause any damage, doesn't mean the next one won't. It would be an absolute shame for a bright, handsome young man like you to end up with brain damage that could've been avoided."

Tommy snapped his head in the doctor's direction. "Next one? You're certain I'm gonna have another one?"

"No, but it's a distinct possibility. Look at you—you're pale, too thin, look like you haven't slept well in a while, nervous, jumpy—you need some help, Tommy."

"Okay, okay—but one question. Since I'm a minor, does the counsellor have to tell my parents what we talk about?"

"No, absolutely not. You're entitled to your privacy just like a legal adult. Tell you what, I'm going to have you admitted for the night for observation. I'll call Dr. James and have her come by and introduce herself to you in the morning, okay? And if you don't like her, we'll find someone else, deal?"

Tommy sighed. "Do I _have_ to stay overnight? No offense, but I hate this place."

"I'd be even more worried about you if you didn't," Dr. Jennings laughed. "But yes, you have to stay the night—we need to monitor you for at least 12-18 hours."

"Okay, if I have to I have to," Tommy grumbled and resigned himself to his fate. "Could you ask Jase to come back in here, please?"

"Sure. I was going to go out and talk to your family and friends anyway. See you in a little while," he said and walked out, heading for the waiting room.

Tommy thought over what Dr. Jennings had said. He knew that some of the injuries he had pointed out were from rangering—but not all of them. Could he really open up that Pandora's Box, though?

___________________

Once Tommy was settled in his accommodations for the night, everyone started pouring into his room: his parents, Jason and his parents, Rocky, Adam, and the rest of the gang. His friends were all pretty upset about seeing him in the hospital again. He tried to reassure them, relating what the doctor had said about there being no further damage and that it was probably just a delayed result of the head injury. His explanation helped some, but all of them—including Tommy—were secretly wondering what exactly Gasket's insidious device had done to him.

Speaking to their friends, but in a voice meant to be heard by everyone—especially the Olivers—Jason added that this was most likely caused by stress and that they all needed to help Tommy chill out.

Whether or not Tommy's parents caught on, Jason wasn't sure, but someone else in the room suddenly felt serious twinges of guilt. The pink ranger lowered her head and kind of withdrew from the group. She was guilty of giving Tommy and Jason a big dose of grief and now she felt partially responsible for Tommy's relapse. They still weren't getting along like they used to, though. Kat had just not been able to put to rest her disappointment, distaste, and resentment.

After a little while of talking and visiting with Tommy, everyone decided to go and let him rest. The last ones remaining were the Scotts.

Jason's mom leaned over Tommy's bed. "Honey, we're gonna go and let you have some peace and quiet. Now don't worry, okay? You're going to be fine." She rubbed his hair and smiled sweetly. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay Sweetie?"

Tommy smiled back. "Yes ma'am. I'll try not to worry."

Mr. Scott said his goodbyes too and joined his wife.

"You two go ahead—I'll be along in a minute," Jason said and they walked out into the hallway leaving them alone.

Taking a seat in the big recliner, Jason looked up at Tommy with a concerned expression.

"Will you be okay?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, like I told you, I'm a big boy. I can go to sleep without a bedtime story, or being tucked in, or anything," he grinned, but he was covering. He _really_ didn't want to stay at the hospital overnight.

Jason gave him a suspicious look. "Bro, tell me the truth. Are you worried?"

"A little, I guess. I've never had a seizure or anything like that."

"Well, you know what the doctor said. There wasn't any damage and it's not a seizure disorder. You may never have another one."

"Yeah, I know." He paused. ". . . but I must be seriously damaged."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because people don't just have seizures—there's got to be something seriously wrong with me. Maybe Zordon, Alpha, and Billy missed something."

"When have you ever known the great triad to miss anything? Come on. Bro, let me tell you something about seizures that I learned in my training. Anyone—that's _anyone_—can have a seizure. There's something called a threshold that determines how much it takes to cause a seizure event in each person. Some people have low thresholds—that's the people that can get them from video games and the like. It takes more than that in most people. I'd say you have an extremely high threshold considering all you've been through and had done to you and this is the first one you've had."

"But if I have any more, they could cause more brain damage. That scares the shit outta me, Jase. I wanna go to college and get a good job and have a normal life when all this 'saving the world' stuff is over and done with."

"And you will, but you need to listen to what the doctor says and take his advice. They'll do whatever they can to prevent you from having any more, but it's up to you to do what they say, okay?"

Tommy sighed. "Okay, but can I ask you something?"

"Anything, bro. What's up?"

"Was it bad? The seizure, I mean."

"No, I've seen lots worse."

"How many have you seen?"

"Several, actually. A few in person and a few more on the lifeguard training films."

"Oh, okay." He still looked nervous, though.

"Ummm, I better go—the folks are waiting for me. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Okay. I'll be here."

Jason leaned in and gave Tommy a brief but warm kiss. He started for the door and then turned back to give Tommy another glance and a weak smile. He really didn't want to leave.

"Go on—don't leave Mom and Dad standing in the hallway," Tommy said with a forced smile.

"Yeah. Bye bro."

"Bye."

Jason joined his parents and began the long trek toward the front entrance. Theresa noticed that Jason was being very quiet.

"Honey, he's gonna be fine. Try not to worry, okay?"

Jason sighed. "I know, it's just that he hates hospitals with a passion and he still has fresh memories of being here not too long ago. He looked so lonely when I left him."

"Aww, he'll be asleep soon and you can come right back in the morning."

"Yeah, I guess."

They continued down the long hallways, not talking much. Jason kept seeing his best friend's lonely, anxious face and recalling their conversation. He came to a decision.

Stopping abruptly, he declared, "Dad, Mom—I can't leave him here by himself. I'm staying with him."

"Jason, they won't let you do that. He's not a child—he'll be okay," Stephen said.

"They'll let me stay. That's what the recliners are for. Dad, I know him better than anyone—he's scared, I can tell. And you see how quick his parents left. He needs someone."

The Scotts smiled at each other and then at their son. They were proud of him.

"Okay—get back up there. Give him a hug for me," Theresa said.

Jason took off back up the hallway after giving his folks a hug. The Scotts continued on toward the parking lot, discussing the Olivers' behaviour.

____________________

Jason slowly opened the door and peeked in. Tommy was still sitting up in bed, cursing the selection of TV channels. The gold ranger strolled in carrying two sodas and two bags of chips that he had gotten from the vending machines.

"You want barbeque or sour cream and onion?" he said grinning, holding up the bags.

Tommy turned and stared at him. "Jase? What the . . ."

"Barbeque or sour cream and onion?" he repeated, shaking the bags.

"Barbeque . . . I thought you left."

Passing a soda to his friend, Jason answered, "I was going to, but then I decided to come back. Won't be the first time I've slept in a recliner."

"You're staying the night? Will the nurses let you?"

"They'll let me—just watch," he grinned and winked. "Probably won't let me sleep in the bed with you like I want, but . . ."

Tommy smiled and chuckled. "No, probably not. What made you come back?"

"Want me to leave again?"

"No, no . . . I just wondered what made you change your mind, that's all."

"Well, I know you're a big boy and all that," he paused. Grinning, he reached over and rubbed Tommy's thigh. "Man, do I know that!"

Tommy chuckled at him and pushed his hand off.

"Anyway . . . you seemed kinda nervous when I left earlier. I, umm, didn't want you to be lonely."

"You'd sleep in a chair just so I wouldn't be lonely . . . you don't have to do this, bro."

"I slept on the _floor_ when you were in Intensive Care. Besides, the folks are gone and I'm not walking home. You're stuck with me, I'm afraid," Jason said with a grin.

After talking for several minutes, Tommy brought up the subject that had been bothering him.

"Jase, did you know that the doctor wants me to talk to a counsellor?"

"Yeah, I overheard him tell your parents."

"I really don't wanna do it."

"Why? Might do you some good."

"I hate shrinks. I spent way too much time talking to them in LA."

"Oh? Oh yeah, when you . . . um . . . yeah." Jason didn't want to bring that up.

"Yeah. Anyway . . ." Tommy dropped his gaze. He was still touchy about discussing that ugly episode in his life. "Do you really think it would help?"

"It might. You have been pretty stressed lately, ya know . . . and this falls under the category of doing whatever the doctor tells you."

"I know, but if I start talking about why I'm stressed that'll lead to my parents . . . and then . . . it'll just go on forever."

Jason sighed and looked intently at Tommy. "Bro, you need to talk to someone about them. You've needed to for a long time. Didn't the counsellors you talked to before ask you about your home life?"

"Yeah, they did. We talked about it some."

"Did you tell them about your dad hitting you and your mom treating you like you were stupid?" That came out a little harsher sounding than Jason had meant for it to. He placed a hand on his friend's arm.

Tommy didn't answer right away. Finally, he just said, "No."

"Why not?!"

"Jase, you just don't understand . . ." He looked away.

"Then explain it to me--_please_."

"Look, I was only 14. If I told them about the fights then it would be worse for me at home. If Child Protective Services got involved, they'd put me in foster care. I've heard some really bad stuff about foster homes—being moved around all the time, treated like crap—no thanks. I decided not to say anything and just take my chances at home."

"You might have missed an opportunity there—you could have been adopted by a better family," Jason said sincerely.

A sad smile crossed Tommy's face and he shook his head. "Jase . . ." There's no way his middle class, suburban, happy childhood, well-adjusted best friend could possibly understand.

"What?"

"People don't adopt 14-year-olds . . . especially 14-year-olds who have tried to kill themselves . . . twice."

Jase sighed. He realized how naive he was being. "Okay, okay . . . but I still think you should talk to this counsellor. Just give it a try."

"I'll think about it. Now, can we please change the subject?"

Jason knew he needed to lighten the mood. He kicked his shoes off and curled up in his recliner. "Sure. How 'bout a bedtime story?" he asked with a trademark Jason grin.

___________________________

_Author's Notes: So will Tommy actually talk to the counsellor and come clean about his home life? If all the dirty laundry gets aired, what will it mean for him at home? Legal action? Kicked out of the house? Another drunken rampage by his father? Stay tuned . . ._

_I know this has been kinda dark and heavy for the past few chapters—things will eventually even out, I promise. I don't torture my boys for no reason. _

_Please review and give me your thoughts!_


	23. Professional Help

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Thanks, as always, to my wonderful regular reviewers! Love you guys! There are a few new pics of Tommy, Jason, and Adam up on my MySpace, if you care to take a look! Link on my profile page. (Facebook as well for those that prefer it.)

**Chapter 23—Professional Help**

Next morning, Tommy and Jason were both awakened by the nurse bringing Tommy his breakfast. She also informed him of his 9:30 appointment with Dr. James.

"Oh boy, can't wait for that," he said sarcastically.

"Oh come now, you'll like her—she's an excellent counsellor and a very sweet lady," the nurse said.

"Mmm, yeah." Tommy was not thrilled about this at all.

Jason stretched and yawned. "Eat your breakfast, Grumpy," He said with a smile. "I'm gonna go get something from the vending machine."

He pulled himself up out of the recliner that had served as his bed. Not only had the night nurse allowed him to stay, but she had also brought him a pillow, a sheet, and a blanket. Tommy had been afraid she was going to kick him out when she came in on her rounds about 11 pm, but Jason had turned on the charm and talked the young nurse into letting him stay with Tommy. He had taken her out into the hallway and told her how upset and anxious his friend was—along with mentioning the fact that Tommy often had violent nightmares—and that he could keep him calm. So either she felt sorry for Tommy or she didn't want to deal with him waking up the rest of the floor in the middle of the night, but she relented. Maybe it was those alluring smiles Jason launched in her direction . . .

--2 half-eaten breakfasts later—

"Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

"You will talk to this woman, right?" Jason asked sincerely.

His bro sighed deeply. "I guess. Not that I want to, but . . . I'll give it a try."

"Good. That's all I ask," Jason smiled reassuringly.

Very soon afterward, there was a knock at the door and an attractive, African-American lady in her early thirties came in.

"Mr. Oliver? I'm Dr. Glynda James. It's very nice to meet you," she said politely.

"Hi, please call me Tommy. This is my best friend Jason."

"Nice to meet you, Jason. So, shall we get down to business?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Jason got up to leave, but not before giving Tommy a soft look and a pat on the shoulder. "I won't go far, bro. Don't worry."

The red ranger looked up into his eyes and gave him a small smile. "I'll be fine."

Dr. James touched Jason on the arm as he walked by. "Jason, I may want to talk to you after I finish with Tommy. Is that okay?"

"Umm, sure. I guess. As long as Tommy doesn't object," Jason said, looking at his bro questioningly.

"It's cool."

That being said, Jason left the room and the doctor took a seat by his bed.

"So, I take it you're not all that thrilled with talking to me, Tommy. Why is that? Bad experience?"

"Umm . . . yeah. I guess you could say that."

"Well, I'll try my best to change your opinion of people in my profession, okay?"

________________________

The session went pretty well, especially considering Tommy's reticence concerning the whole thing.

Next came Jason. Dr. James asked him to accompany her to her office and they talked for nearly 45 minutes. Afterwards, she told Jason that she had to go over her notes with Dr. Jennings and then they would talk to Tommy. Jason headed back to Tommy's room to see how he was. He understood that this could potentially be very upsetting for his bro and he was anxious to get back to him.

When the gold ranger walked into Tommy's room, he was rather surprised to see him sitting up watching TV and looking no worse for wear.

"Tommy? Hey bro, how'd it go?"

"Hey. Not bad actually. How about you?"

"Pretty good. First time I've ever talked to a counsellor, but I thought she was very nice. You?"

"Yeah. Much better than the ones I had in LA. Still, I don't like talking about personal stuff to strangers."

"What did you talk about?"

"Well, she started off by telling me what Dr. Jennings had told her—about me being overstressed, jumpy, and sorta depressed and then we went on to what I thought was causing it. I told her about trying to get caught up with schoolwork after I was here before. I also told her about the stress at home and the problems between Mom and Dad and my birth family."

"What did she say to that?" Jason asked.

"Not much—she was mostly taking notes and getting down basic information."

"Did you tell her anything else?"

"I mentioned the nightmares."

"Good."

"What did she ask you?"

"Well, she wanted to know how long we'd known each other and how close we were."

"What'd you tell her?" Tommy asked with a wicked grin.

Jason returned the grin. "Oh you know—I said that we'd known each other for about 3-4 years and that you were my boy toy and sex slave, that's all," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh well, as long as you told the truth."

"And then she asked me what I thought was stressing you—I told her pretty much what you told her."

Tommy nodded but Jason was nervous about telling Tommy what _else_ they had talked about. Dr. James was sure to tell him what he had said though, so he figured he'd better come clean.

"But she did ask me if I knew of any incidents of abuse . . ."

Tommy's eyes opened slightly wider.

Jason took a deep breath and continued. "I asked her if she meant recent or in the past and she just said 'either'. Don't be mad, okay—but I felt I had to tell her some of what you told me before. I also told her about the verbal abuse I had overheard."

Tommy sighed and lowered his head. He didn't say anything.

"Are you mad?" Jason asked quietly.

"No . . . I'm not mad. I just didn't want to get into all that."

"Tommy, I know you don't wanna dredge up the past, but it might be contributing to your current problems. Talking it out might help."

"I don't know—reliving all that might just make things worse."

"I'm sure Dr. James isn't going to do anything that isn't helpful, T. She seems very good at what she does."

________________________

Not long after that, the counsellor walked back in carrying a large file folder.

"Tommy, I need to ask you a couple more questions, okay?"

"Sure."

"Want me to leave?" Jason asked.

"Nah—we don't have any secrets. Stay."

"Okay, I want you to tell me again about your relationship with your parents."

"Umm, well . . . I guess you could say that it's not good."

"Uh huh . . . Mr. Scott here seems to think it's much worse than 'not good'."

Tommy shot a look in his bro's direction.

"Tommy, this is important—please," Dr. James added.

He heaved a big sigh and stared at the ceiling for a moment. When he brought his gaze back to the doctor, he had a very anxious look on his face.

"Just so you know, I'm not very comfortable talking about this . . ."

"Understood."

Tommy was still stalling, so Jason tried to help. "Bro, just tell her what you told me that day at the park. You're not a kid anymore—there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Ok well . . . here goes: Things were okay when I was really little, up until I was in elementary school. I have no idea what caused the change, but my dad started drinking a lot."

"Was he violent when he was drunk?"

"Yeah . . . look, Jase has already told you this stuff. Do I have to go over it again?"

"Tommy, for me to do anything much with this information, I have to get it straight from you."

"Do anything like what? Telling my parents what I say? Legal action? No. No way," he stated resolutely and shook his head. He was on the verge of shutting her out completely—she could see it coming.

"You misunderstand me. I have no such plans at present. I just need this info in your chart in your own words. What you tell me could affect how I go about treating you, okay? And I promise, I will share nothing with anyone until you approve."

That sounded reasonable to him, though he was still reluctant. "Umm, okay. Sorry I got upset. I guess I'll try to tell you what you need to know."

Tommy finally managed to tell her some of what he had told Jason. He also told her a little more about recent events. Once he was done, the doctor asked his permission to share her notes with Dr. Jennings so that they could treat him properly. He agreed, but reiterated that he didn't want his parents told exactly what he'd said.

"You have my word that nothing will be said to them without your permission." She got up to leave, but turned back to Tommy and said, "But I'll tell you this much—if you were a child, I'd have you out of that house and into protective custody so fast it'd make their heads spin. As it is, you'll be 18 on November 3rd, so there isn't much we can do—unless you request it, of course." She looked at Tommy questioningly.

"No, I think I can make it until graduation. That is, if it doesn't get any worse."

"I'm going to consult with Dr. Jennings now. We'll try to make sure it doesn't get any worse. We'll call your parents and set up a meeting with you all for this afternoon, okay?"

"Okay. When can I go home?"

"Probably after the meeting, but Dr. Jennings has final say on that. I'll see you in a couple of hours, okay?"

"Yes ma'am."

_________________________

Tommy and Jason whiled away the time by watching some lousy daytime TV and just talking. Tommy even received a visit from Sophia who had heard that he was at the hospital again.

"Well hey there, handsome!" she started, but when she noticed Jason sitting there she corrected herself. "Handsomes," she said, emphasizing the plural.

"Sophia! Hi there," Tommy responded. Jason greeted her as well.

"My brother called me and said that it was all over school that you were in the hospital again, so I had to come see you!"

Tommy groaned. _'That didn't take long. Wonder who ran their mouth?'_

"All over school _already_?" Jason asked.

"Yep. Well, you know how Angel Grove High is," Sophia offered.

They did. Gossip and rumours spread like wildfire through the small high school. The same could be said for the whole community—everybody knew everybody else's business. It was a wonder the rangers had kept their identity a secret for as long as they had.

"So what happened? You look great," she asked. Even though Tommy was looking a bit rough around the edges, he appeared leagues better than he had the last time she had seen him.

"I had a seizure yesterday. The doctor thinks it's just a delayed result of the head injury. Hopefully, it was just a one-time thing."

"Oh, I hope so. You've been through enough," she answered.

Jason nodded—how true that was—and she didn't even know the half of it. "He's gonna be okay—he's tough," he added.

She smiled at Tommy. "He certainly is," she said with a wink.

They talked for several minutes until Sophia had to leave to go back to her unit. She asked Tommy again to keep in touch—he knew where to find her.

"She's still hot for you, ya know?" Jason said once she had left.

"What? Oh please . . . she's just being nice."

"Uh huh. Whatever. Hey, she can look all she wants . . . as long as she doesn't touch," Jason said, grinning, as he got up and placed a soft kiss on Tommy's lips.

"Yeah, I seem to remember you getting all worked up over her before," Tommy said, smiling as he recalled the big misunderstanding they had had over her not so long ago.

"You think it's all that funny, do ya? That girl nearly derailed our relationship before it even got started. Did you know I even considered going back to Switzerland?"

"Seriously? All because when I told you my type was Italians and what you heard was 'Italian girls'? Jase . . ."

"What?! I thought my chances with you were all shot to hell—I really didn't want to stick around and see you with her . . . or anyone, besides me."

"Well, no worries now, huh? Glad we got all that sorted out," he said with a warm smile and pulled Jason into another slightly deeper kiss.

_______________________

About 2 in the afternoon, Dr. Jennings and Dr. James came into Tommy's room followed by the Olivers. Tommy's mood immediately changed when he saw them. He and Jason had been having a pretty good time, all things considered. His parents had called earlier in the day to see how he was and told him that the meeting had been arranged for the afternoon. Now it was upon them and the red ranger was not looking forward to this.

Michael Oliver walked over to Tommy and smiled. "How are you, son? Did you get any sleep last night?"

"I'm okay. Jase stayed with me so I slept pretty well," Tommy answered quietly.

Hearing this, Margaret Oliver gave Jason a smile. "That was nice of you. That recliner can't be very comfortable."

"Oh, it's not bad—beats the floor. Besides, he needed someone with him," Jason answered, hoping they would catch his meaning.

Dr. James appeared to be ready to get down to business. "Okay, so Dr. Jennings and I are here to go over our findings with you all. Please make yourselves comfortable."

Jason got up and motioned for Mrs. Oliver to have a seat in the recliner. Tommy glanced up at him anxiously.

"You're not leaving are you?"

"Umm, well . . ." he looked over at the Olivers and the doctors and then back at Tommy. "If you want me to stay, then I'll stay."

"Good," Tommy said and slid over a little so that Jason could sit on the bed. He made sure they were in physical contact—it reassured him.

"Like I told you all last night, the tests we did showed no further brain damage. That's excellent news however, I have to remind you that seizures _can_ cause damage, so we need to prevent them as much as possible. As Tommy is not suffering from a seizure disorder such as epilepsy, the cause is most likely external," Dr. Jennings began.

"So is there something he's doing to cause this?"

"Mom, you asked that last night. I'm not doing anything to bring this on, okay?!" Tommy said, sounding very annoyed.

"He's right. I believe it's a combination of the head injury and stress. Therefore, Dr. James was called in to assess his emotional condition. Dr. James," the neurologist said and gestured to the counsellor, giving her the floor.

"I talked extensively with Tommy this morning. I also spoke with Jason here."

"Don't you think that Tommy's father and I should have been consulted?" Mrs. Oliver interrupted.

"I intend on speaking with both of you in great detail in the immediate future, however as far as the initial assessment goes, I have what I need," Dr. James said in a curt, professional voice.

Her manner was quite different than it had been earlier in the day. Tommy grinned slightly—this was going to be interesting.

"As I was saying, after speaking with them I communicated my findings to Dr. Jennings. They are as follows: The stress in Tommy's life must be reduced. It is adversely affecting his health and mental condition. I know that school and homework are important, but they do not take precedence over his well-being," she said, looking directly at the Olivers.

"I intend to speak to his teachers and try to work out a compromise. Tommy has told me how important it is to him to graduate this Spring, so we will try to make that happen without ruining his health in the process. I find him to be extremely intelligent and I'm sure his teachers will only confirm that."

Jason turned and smiled at Tommy. "Told ya," he mouthed. Tommy gave him a small grin.

"Now, I understand that things at home are not always easy, but that's not unusual between parents and teenagers. That's one thing I intend to work with Tommy on. I want to see him twice a week for a while and I would like to interview you, his parents, as soon as possible. We will have periodic meetings to discuss his progress."

"Do you really think all of this is necessary?" Michael Oliver asked.

That comment, along with the look on Margaret's face, led her to believe that they might not be cooperative.

"Oh absolutely." Dr. James picked up a thick file folder and held it up for them to see. "This is Tommy's medical history from this hospital, his family doctor, his previous family doctor _and_ South Central Hospital in LA. As you can see, it's quite extensive." She stopped to allow the insinuation to sink in.

Dr. Jennings spoke up. "Tommy is pale, too thin, suffering from severe headaches and stress and is borderline depressed. The next seizure may cause irreparable damage—we need to do something now."

"Does he need medication?" Margaret asked.

'_What he needs is a better family and some TLC,'_ Jason thought.

"Not at present. Anti-seizure meds generally make you groggy—same with anti-depressants. We'll hold off on the medication for now. We want to try counselling first. Does all this sound okay to you, Tommy?"

Jason saw how anxious Tommy had become at the doctor's words. He patted his leg comfortingly and said, "You're gonna be fine—I promise. Remember?"

Tommy did remember the promise that his bro had made to him in the park. He wondered if Jason could really help him like he said. The desire was there, he knew that. But Jason was just a kid like him.

'_What other choice do I have? At least these doctors seem to really care what happens to me.'_

"I guess I could give it a shot. It's worth a try."

"Good. Now in between sessions I want you to rest, continue trying to get caught up with school, and doing some of the things you told me reduces your stress—being with your friends, practicing martial arts, listening to music—things like that, okay?" Dr. James said.

"Yes ma'am."

"How about the day after tomorrow for your first session? Say around 4:30? Can you make that?"

"Umm, I guess so. Jase, can you drive me?" He looked back at Dr. James. "I'm still not allowed to drive because of the head injury."

"Sure. I'll be glad to," Jason said.

"Oh, that reminds me. Tommy, because of the seizure _and_ the head injury, I don't want you driving for at least 6 more weeks, okay?" Dr. Jennings said.

"Six _more_ weeks?! Oh, come on. I'm okay to drive," an exasperated Tommy said.

"It's not me—it's the law. Sorry," the doctor said, holding his hands up.

Tommy rolled his eyes. _'Yeah, I can operate a towering zord just fine—pilot the megazord too—but a Toyota is too much for me.'_

"Yes sir," he said instead of what he was thinking.

Dr. James turned to Tommy's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Oliver, could we set up a meeting between the three of us for sometime over the next couple of days?"

"We should be able to do that—we'll check our schedules and get back to you, alright?" Margaret said.

"That'll be fine," the counsellor said.

"Can I please go home now?" Tommy asked pleadingly.

Dr. Jennings smiled and nodded. "Absolutely. Get outta here."

Tommy sighed. "Thank you!"

___________________________

The following couple of weeks went by fairly smoothly. Tommy had 4 or 5 sessions with Dr. James that produced some progress. He liked her a lot better than the shrinks he'd seen in LA, so he began to gradually open up to her. He did, however, insist that Jason be present. His bro was all too happy to oblige him, but the more he heard, the more he began to hate Michael and Margaret Oliver.

Unfortunately, a side effect of dredging up Tommy's hurtful past was the release of a lot of repressed anger—and it wasn't always directed in the proper way. Many times in the last several days, Jason had his head bit off for no apparent reason. He refused to take it personally and Tommy always apologized right away, but it was happening more and more often. He was also moody and uncharacteristically quiet.

'_I've just got to hang in there and help him through this. He'll be much better once this is over with,'_ Jason repeatedly told himself.

The advice given to him by Dr. James was along those lines, too. She told him just to stay by Tommy's side and keep supporting him—things would get better soon. He knew that she was right, but the whole situation was beginning to try his patience. Jason had no intention of giving up on his best friend though.

Tommy was doing fairly well most of the time, except for when he was alone with his parents. It seemed that their communication with Dr. James made them even more distant from their son. Michael became more withdrawn and Margaret had very little to say either—except when she was hinting that his friends needed to leave. She had it in her head that the school day was time enough for Tommy to spend with his friends. Once he got home, he needed to do schoolwork and rest. Tommy put up with it for a while because he didn't want to get anything started, but he had precious little time with Jason and it was getting to him.

One evening, things boiled over. Jason had just left about 10 minutes before after taking the not-so-subtle hints Mrs. Oliver had dropped. Tommy and Jason had been really enjoying themselves and it pissed Tommy off that she had made him leave.

"Mom, why did you have to do that?! Why won't you let my friends hang out here?"

"Because you need to rest—that's what the doctor said."

"Yes, but the doctor also said that I should do things that reduce stress—hanging out with my friends does that!"

"You spend all day with them, when you get home you need to rest!"

"At school? The only time we have to talk is at lunch and that's only 45 minutes. You need to let up some. At least let Jase stay—he's helping me with my homework!"

The argument went round and round, accomplishing nothing. In the middle of it though, Tommy's communicator went off. He couldn't answer it, so he tried to slide it into his pocket to muffle the sound. It just kept going off though.

He could tell that his mother was getting curious. He just played it off as his cell phone. They continued arguing—she just wouldn't leave and he couldn't answer his incessantly paging communicator until she did. Finally, she got fed up and went downstairs and Tommy could at last teleport out and help his team.

Once the battle was over, the red ranger transported himself back to a hidden spot in his backyard. It was a good thing he did too. When he climbed the steps and opened the door to his bedroom, there sat his mother on his bed looking livid.

"Just where the hell have you been?!" she yelled. "You were supposed to be here resting or doing homework!"

"I just went outside for a little air, that's all," he said, the fatigue evident in his voice. It had been a tough battle.

"For more than 2 hours?!"

"Why are you spying on me?! Can I not even walk outside without you comin' down on me?!"

"I am trying to watch out for you, young man! I suppose you sneaked out to meet up with some of your friends—or was it a girl?"

Tommy looked surprised. "No, it wasn't a girl."

"Too bad you couldn't hang onto Kim—I liked her."

He couldn't believe she'd say such a thing. She knew how hurt he'd been when that relationship ended. His tone of voice and the look on his face changed.

"Mom . . . she broke my heart. Kim dropped me like a bad habit and said she thought of me as a brother. I didn't do anything to drive her away."

"Well, if it wasn't a girl then who was it? Back to my original question: Where have you been?!"

"I told you—I just walked outside for a while!"

"Don't lie to me, Thomas . . ."

"I'm not!" he said with narrowed eyes.

"You are!" she said, getting right up in his face. "I'm trying to do what those damn doctors ask and keep you from overdoing, and this is the thanks I get! You disappear and then lie about where you went. Well, you know what? You're grown—you can take care of yourself from now on!"

Tommy felt his anger boiling up inside himself. He knew he shouldn't say anything, but he just couldn't stop himself this time.

"And that would be different _how_?! I've taken care of myself since I was ten years old—as soon as I came home from the hospital after that 'unfortunate fall'. Remember that?! The day that my dear ol' drunk dad helped me take the fast way down the stairs for defending myself?!"

"Don't bring that up again—you don't remember exactly what happened."

"Well if I don't it's because of the head injury I got from it! But I think my memory is pretty well intact. You could have defended me—you could have stopped him from hitting me, but you didn't. You can live with that for the rest of your life!" He was getting louder and louder and looming over the top of his mom. Then she did something she hardly ever did anymore. She reared back and slapped him hard.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that!" she yelled.

His fists and teeth were clenching—he was seriously about to lose it.

"Why? Guilt gettin' to ya? You wanna know where most of my stress comes from? Where most of my problems come from? You! Dad hardly talks to me, but you . . . you just won't leave me alone! You push and push and worry me to death over school and then try to make me feel stupid! Guess what? I'm not stupid, nor am I slow. I know what you're doing. And you say you're trying to help—hmpf. Trying to help me have a nervous breakdown! Don't you care about me at all? Why in hell did you two even adopt me anyway? You know what? If you're trying to drive me away—it's working! The only time I'm really happy is when I'm at Jase's house, anyway. I don't feel stressed at all over there!"

Margaret Oliver had stood there amazed, listening to this diatribe. She couldn't believe Tommy would yell at her like that, but she wasn't about to take it.

"Then go! Pack your stuff and go! I don't care anymore!"

"Fine! I will! And you never really cared anyway, so it won't be much of a change for you!"

She slapped him again, harder this time. "Get out, Tommy. I don't want to see you for a while."

"No problem," he said tersely and began gathering some clothes and other things and shoving them into a duffle bag. Mrs. Oliver stomped out of the room and slammed his door. Tommy moved as quickly as possible, grabbing enough stuff for at least 3 or 4 days. When he was finished, he slung his duffle bag over one shoulder and his backpack over the other. His rage was at such a point now that he could feel the heat in his face and knew he needed to get out of that house before he did something crazy. He stomped down the steps and yanked his jacket off the standing rack, pulling it into the floor. He kicked it out of the way and then took out a little more frustration on the hall table. After the lamp had been smashed and the little table lay in pieces on the floor, he flung open the front door with such force that the doorknob stuck into the wall. He didn't bother to try to close it behind him.

Michael Oliver came to the front door and yelled, "You're gonna fix all of this boy, or I'll take it outta your hide!"

Tommy whirled around on the front walk. His eyes were as black as midnight and there was absolute rage on his face. He dropped his bags and beckoned with his hands. "Try it—come on!"

When his dad showed no intent to step forward, Tommy moved in his direction and went even further. "I'm not 10 anymore—let's go, big man!"

Not about to get into an altercation with his son on their front lawn, Michael yanked the door loose from the wall and slammed it shut.

Tommy wasn't done, though. "That's what I thought! Fuck you!" he yelled.

He stomped off down the street and went at least a block before stopping at a corner. There he stood for a couple of minutes, trying to calm himself down. He looked at his hands to make sure they weren't shaking like before.

'_All I need to do is have a seizure out here by myself,'_ he thought.

Once he had sufficiently calmed himself, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called Jason.

"Jase, hey. I'm sorry to call so late, but . . . could you come pick me up?"

The gold ranger could hear how upset Tommy was. "Tommy? What's wrong? Where are you?"

"I'll be at the bus stop up the street from my house—I'll explain everything when you get here."

"Okay, I'll be right there. Give me about 10 minutes. Will you be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll see you in a few."

Jason was worried as he jumped up and pulled on a hoodie over his t-shirt.

'_What's going on? Why is he out this late? I hope he's okay.'_

He hurriedly put on his shoes and bounded down the stairs, startling his mom who was sitting in the kitchen.

"Sorry Mom. I gotta go get Tommy—he sounded really upset."

Promising to fill her in when he knew more, he quickly went out and started his car and went off to retrieve his best friend.

Meanwhile, Tommy had made it to the bus stop and he sat hunched over with his head in his hands, waiting for Jason.

'_Now I've done it. Just couldn't keep my big mouth shut.'_

Very quickly Jason arrived and saw Tommy sitting on the bench looking thoroughly dejected. He climbed into the passenger seat of the Mustang and sank down in the seat. Jason surmised from the duffle that something serious had happened. Tommy looked pretty upset.

"Are you okay, bro?"

"I guess. We had a major blow up."

Noticing the red mark on Tommy's face, he felt his anger rise. "Did she hit you?"

The red ranger put his hand on his cheek. "Yeah—she slapped me."

"Why? What happened?"

Tommy began to recount as much of the argument as he could remember. Jason's eyes got wide and he almost chuckled when he heard the part about challenging Michael in the front yard.

'_Sonofabitch's got it comin','_ he thought, but didn't say anything.

When Tommy had finished, he said, "I've done it now, Jase. She told me to get out and not come back for a while. And Dad will probably try to take me out the next time I see him. What am I supposed to do now?"

"You're doing it right now, bro," Jason answered as they turned onto his street.

"I can't stay with you from now on. I can't impose on your family like this."

"You're not imposing. My parents think of you as another son, you know that."

Tommy sighed. "I know, but . . ."

"But nothing," Jason interrupted. "Look, they'll cool off and you can go back then if you want to."

"I don't really want to, but I don't really have a choice. If I leave for good, I won't have a car, I won't have any money, and who's gonna pay for college?"

Jason knew that Tommy had a point. "We'll figure something out. Try not to worry, okay?"

"Yeah. Easier said than done, but at least I'm away from them for a while."

Jason suddenly got a big grin on his face.

"What?" Tommy asked.

"I can't wait to hear what Dr. James has to say about this! She's gonna raise hell!"

Tommy actually smiled a bit at that. "Probably so."

________________

Once inside Jason's house, Theresa Scott gave Tommy a warm, tight hug. Seeing his distraught face, she tried to help.

"Sweetie, tell me what happened. Are you alright?" She turned his face so that she could see the developing bruise on his cheek. "Who hit you?!"

Tommy started blushing. He was somewhat embarrassed.

"Mom did, just before she told me to leave. I really hate to ask this, but do you think I could borrow your guest room for a couple of days?"

She pulled him into another hug. "Of course you can, baby. You stay as long as you need to."

When she looked at his face again, he had tears in his eyes. "Come on, let's get you settled."

Tommy and Jason followed her up the stairs to the little guest room that was across the hall from Jason's room.

"It's a little small, but the bed's comfortable."

"It's just fine . . . Mom. Thank you."

"Are you hungry?"

"No ma'am—just tired."

"Okay well, get some sleep and you'll feel better in the morning."

"I hope so."

Mrs. Scott went off downstairs and Jason helped Tommy get settled.

"You know where everything is, but if you need anything, just ask. Make yourself at home, okay?"

"Okay, I'll try. Thanks, man."

"Hey, no thanks necessary. I told you I was going to look after you, didn't I?"

They exchanged a few long, warm kisses and then went to bed in their separate rooms.

Everything was fine until about 4 am. Jason was awakened by the sound of Tommy yelling. He jumped out of his bed and ran to Tommy's door, opening it quickly. His best friend was thrashing around in his sleep, obviously in the middle of an intense nightmare.

Sitting on the bed and holding him by his shoulders, Jason tried to gently wake him.

"Bro, wake up . . . it's just a dream. Come on, Tommy."

The red ranger yelled again and that brought Mr. and Mrs. Scott to Tommy's door.

"Is he okay, Jason?"

"It's just a nightmare, but I can't seem to wake him up," he told his parents and then turned back to his best friend. "Tommy . . . Tommy, wake up!" he said loudly while shaking him gently.

Finally, Tommy came out of it and woke suddenly with a look of terror in his eyes. "J-Jase?"

"Yeah bro, it's me. You're fine—just a stupid nightmare," he said while rubbing his arm.

"Oh god . . . it was awful, Jase. I . . ." he began but stopped short when he saw Jason's parents standing there.

"Oh no, I woke you up too. I'm so sorry," he told Theresa and Stephen.

"It's okay, Tommy. As long as you're alright," Mr. Scott said.

"Yes sir, I'm okay. Just a bad dream," he said, but he was visibly shaking.

"Do you think you can go back to sleep?" Mrs. Scott asked.

"I don't know. I'll try."

"I'll make you some herbal tea. That'll help you relax. Be back in a few minutes," she said and went down to the kitchen. Stephen accompanied her as he was going to have to get up to go to work in an hour anyway. May as well get the coffee started.

"See Jase? That's one reason why I can't stay here."

"What? Just because you woke them up a little early? Please. They're used to it—I used to have nightmares too, ya know."

"Still . . . you're their son."

"And they think of you as a son, so quit arguing, okay? Try to calm yourself and get a little more sleep."

Mom brought the warm tea back up to him and he drank it slowly. After a few minutes, he began to get sleepy again, so Jason left him with the promise of waking him for school.

Jason slowly descended the stairs to the kitchen and grabbed a cup from the cabinet. After pouring himself some coffee, he sat down at the table with his parents.

"So, he's asleep again?"

"Yeah, that tea did the trick, as usual. Thanks Mom . . . and I'm sorry he woke you guys up so early."

"No, that's okay. I'd be getting up in less than an hour anyway. Did he say what the dream was about?"

Jason shook his head. "He didn't want to talk about it. He'll tell me later on, I'm sure."

"Honey, we don't want to pry, but your father and I are very concerned about Tommy. You've been going with him to this counsellor for a couple of weeks now. Is there anything you could tell us? What's going on with the poor boy?"

Jason sighed and stared into his coffee cup. "I don't really know how much I can say without Tommy's permission, but I'll tell you this, he's had a horrible childhood. I have no idea how he's turned out to be the person he is considering what he's had to deal with."

"That bad?"

"By all rights, he should be doing time for robbery or assault by now. He ought to at least be a delinquent, but he's not. I always knew he was a forgiving person, but this is ridiculous. I think he's been repressing a lot of stuff, though. If it were me, I'd have so much pent-up anger that I'd have blown a gasket by now."

"Son, tell me—is he being physically or mentally abused?" Stephen Scott asked. In his time with the police force, he had seen more than his share of sad situations.

"Not so much physically anymore—he's big and strong enough to defend himself now. These days it's mostly verbal—from his mom. She tries to make him feel inadequate—she's even had him believing that he's mentally slow."

"What? Tommy? That's hard to believe. He's always seemed fine to me—above average, definitely," Theresa stated, amazed.

"He _is_ fine—there's nothing wrong with him. He runs circles around me in science. She just tries to keep him torn down so that she feels bigger. She does the same thing to Mr. Oliver."

"Hmmm. Is that right?" Stephen said.

"Yep. And get this—she's got a serious, deep-seated prejudice against natives. She can't stand the sight of David and Sam."

"You're kidding! But Tommy is . . ."

"I know. He said that when he was little she tried to tell him that he was Spanish or Italian. It wasn't until he was older that he figured out that she had been lying to him. He said that the older he got, the more native he looked and she couldn't stand that. She refused to talk to him about it anymore."

"That woman is nuts," Stephen said, shaking his head.

"No kiddin'. They've both been awful to him though. I don't know which one I hate more."

"Jason, you shouldn't hate people," Theresa said in her motherly tone.

"Mom I realize that, but you don't know what I know. You haven't had him cry on your shoulder. Maybe I can convince him to tell you some specifics, then you'll understand."

"Well, you make sure he knows that he's welcome here any time and for as long as he needs to be here."

"Thanks Mom, I will."

"Not to mention that if he needs me in my official capacity, I'll be glad to pay them a visit in full uniform," Stephen said, winking. "Maybe I can even scare up a native officer to come with me."

Jason grinned and chuckled a bit. "Okay, I'll tell him Dad. Thanks. But you know what else is worrying me? He'll be 18 in less than a month—they might permanently kick him out then and they can do it without any legal problems."

"Well, like I said, he's welcome here."

Jason got up to fix himself some breakfast. He hugged both of his parents quickly and told them how much he loved and appreciated them. He wished his best friend had a family like his.

________________________

A week or so later, things were pretty much back to normal. After Tommy's session with Dr. James in which he had told her about being slapped and kicked out of the house, the counsellor had called up Mrs. Oliver and arranged a meeting with her and Tommy's dad. Dr. James and a child advocate lawyer had a talk with the Olivers. The major point of discussion being Tommy's medical history and all the unexplained cuts, bruises, bone fractures, and scars that his physical examinations had shown since he was 8 years old.

Another interesting find came out of Dr. James' investigation. Turns out that Child Protective Services in LA had a file on Tommy—his sensei had reported to them several times and so had a few of his teachers and neighbours. Unfortunately, there was never enough proof for them to do anything and Tommy himself wouldn't accuse his parents out of fright, so nothing could be done. It added to the threat though. Without revealing that Tommy had said anything to her, Dr. James let the Olivers know that she only needed one opportunity and she'd have them prosecuted. She was certain that Tommy would testify now, but she didn't tell them that. She knew that Mrs. Oliver was a lawyer, so she chose her words carefully.

Apparently taking the threat to heart, Margaret called Tommy and apologized for losing her temper and asked him to come home. Because he didn't want to wear out his welcome at the Scotts', he went. Things were a little more bearable for him now—not because his mother was trying so hard to be good to him—more like because she let him do as he pleased and said nothing much to him. That was fine with Tommy—he had a wonderful substitute mother in Theresa Scott. For his part, Michael just stayed away from his son and hardly spoke a word to him. Again, that was fine with the red ranger.

He even tested his mom by inviting David to the house to hang out with him for a while. She said nothing about it. Jason stayed over a couple of nights in a row and she still said nothing.

One month after the seizure Tommy was feeling much better physically and emotionally. Dr. James said that things would continue to improve for Tommy as long as he continued to work through his past and learn to deal with the present. He was also smiling and laughing more. Everyone noticed the difference and was very happy to see it. Jason especially—he felt like he had his baby back.

___________________________

_Author's Notes: Okay, for all you lovely regular reviewers who have been waiting for some more hot stuff—the next chapter is going to be all cute and sweet/ hot and sexy fluff—no serious stuff. I think the boys have earned a break, don't you? _

_Don't forget to review!! I wanna see some new names!_


	24. First Date

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Okay guys, just to remind you—this is slash and rated "M" for a reason—the end of this chapter will definitely be worthy of that rating. If you're underage or can't handle serious male/male sexual acts, hit that 'Back' button now! However, it's still not too much for this site—I hope. I should have an NC-17 version ready in a couple of days, though. Message or email me if you'd like to read it!

I have to say a big thank you to 'Shwing Shwing' who helped me with some of the date ideas for this chapter.

And now for the much anticipated hot sexy fluff chapter . . .

_Gentlemen . . . start your engines!!_

**Chapter 24—First Date**

One indication that Tommy was getting back to his old self was that he was becoming interested in fooling around with Jason again. Ever since he was snatched by Gasket, he had not been himself. But in recent days, he had been flirting and stealing kisses whenever he could. It was a pleasant surprise for the gold ranger.

When Tommy thought back over the last month, he was very glad that some things had gotten better in his life, but he realized that he had been neglecting the one person who had helped him the most—the one he depended on and loved the most—Jason. He knew that Jason understood what he had been through and was still going through—the anger, hurt, anxiety, and depression that dealing with his past and current home life was stirring up in him. He still had a long way to go, but he was making steady progress. His Jason had been right beside him the whole time and he had no reason to believe that anything would change.

So now that he was feeling better, Tommy knew he needed to do something for his best friend. But what? They had never really had a 'real' date—they usually either hung out at one of their houses or at the Youth Center with their friends. Maybe it was time they had a proper date. Problem was, where could they go and what could they do in public that would be date-like?

'_Too bad we're so far from LA—it wouldn't be a problem there.'_

He racked his brain for a couple of days, trying to plan a surprise date for himself and his lover. He finally hit upon an idea that he liked. While looking up the sports scores in the newspaper one morning, Tommy came across an ad for a drive-in movie theatre in a town nearby. Angel Grove didn't have a drive-in anymore, so a lot of people made the hour and a half trek up the coastal highway to the somewhat bigger town of Reefside. Halloween was coming up very soon, so the theatre was featuring a marathon of classic horror movies every night.

'_Perfect! We both _love_ those movies, it's a drive-in so we'd have some privacy, and it's in another town so we wouldn't have to be self-conscious! Score!'_

Tommy was so thoroughly pleased with himself that he had a big grin on his face for most of the morning.

"Alright man, you act like you know something we don't. What's up?" Adam asked at lunch.

"What? Can't I just be happy without being up to something?"

"Oh, I'm glad you're happy, but I know you a little better than that. What's goin' on, dude?"

Tommy leaned over closer to Adam and whispered, "Tell you after school—I need your advice about something."

"Sure. Glad to help."

________________________

After the last bell rang, everyone piled out into the hallway and headed for their lockers. The usual course of action was for them all to head to the Youth Center—Tommy with Jason, Rocky with Adam or vise-versa, and Tanya with Katherine. Today, however, Jason absolutely _had_ to spend some time in the library doing research for a Psychology paper, so Tommy caught a ride with Adam and Rocky.

Jason was a little surprised that Tommy didn't want to go to the library with him, but he played it off.

"Umm, sure bro. I'll see you at the Youth Center in about an hour or so."

Once in Adam's jeep, Tommy wasted no time.

"Okay, here's the deal: I'm planning a big surprise for Jason and I need some advice."

"Sounds interesting. What kind of surprise?" Adam asked, grinning.

"Well you know, we've never really had what you'd call a 'real' date and he's stood by me through all this crap that's been going on lately, so I want to do something nice for him."

"That's cool—what did ya have in mind?"

"Promise you won't breathe a word to Jason, right?"

They both nodded and grinned. Tommy told them about the drive-in theatre in Reefside and the movie marathon.

"Oh man, that sounds cool! I wanna go!" Rocky said excitedly.

Tommy laughed. "I thought you didn't wanna watch!"

"On a different night, I mean . . ."

"So what do you need help with?" Adam asked.

"Well, some advice, I guess. Should I make it a surprise?"

"Absolutely! He'll love it!"

"So how do I get us there? I can't drive yet, so how do I go about it?"

"Hmm . . . well, you could draw a map—you know, like a treasure map—just don't be real specific so he doesn't suspect," Rocky suggested.

"Hey yeah . . . 'X' marks the spot . . . and you're the treasure!" Adam said and then laughed along with Tommy.

Rocky rolled his eyes. "You could also put some of his favourite snacks and drinks in a cooler and put it in the trunk of his car without him knowing about it. Instant picnic."

"Good idea. Leave it to you to come up with a food idea," Tommy remarked.

"So, when are you planning this hot date for?"

"Friday night, if Gasket will leave us alone," Tommy said.

"Cool. Well, we promise not to say anything. Good luck," Adam said with a little wink to Tommy.

_________________________

The red ranger spent lots of time over the next couple of days planning the details of the date and drawing a cryptic map. He really wanted Friday night to be special. Once the day rolled around, he got the food and drinks together with Jason's mom's help. She even helped him get it into the car without the gold ranger knowing about it. He had only told Jason that they were going somewhere about 5pm and to be ready.

Jason was, of course, curious and tried to get some information out of his best friend, but no luck. Tommy just grinned at him and shook his head.

"You'll find out soon enough," was all he'd say.

When time came to leave, they walked out to the Mustang.

"Okay, where are we going? I have to know if I'm gonna drive," Jason asked.

Tommy smiled widely. "Just get in the car, Jase."

Jason rolled his eyes and complied. Putting on his seat belt and starting the car, he turned to Tommy. "Okay, now what?"

"Look under your sun shade," Tommy directed.

His bro pulled down the shade and a folded piece of paper fell down into his lap. A questioning look crossed Jason's face.

"Well . . . look at it!" Tommy prompted.

Jason opened the paper to find a somewhat vague but very cute attempt at a treasure map—complete with a big red 'X'. He had written it in Old English letters and even used yellowed paper with burned edges to make it look more realistic.

"Follow the map and you'll see where we're going," Tommy grinned.

"You drew this?"

"Yep."

"Not very big on details, are ya?" Jason kidded.

"That's sorta the idea, bro. If I was too specific, it'd ruin the surprise."

Jason grinned and studied the map. "So I see that I need to take the coastal highway—how far is it to the 'X' though?"

"About an hour—hour and a half tops."

"Hmmm . . . that would put us in . . . Reefside, I believe. What's there?"

Tommy feigned annoyance. "Would you just drive and stop thinking so much—you'll ruin it!"

Smiling widely, Jason handed the map to Tommy and backed out of the driveway. His best friend had obviously put a lot of thought and effort into this.

'_I wonder what he's got up his sleeve. In any case, it's nice that his state of mind has improved to where he'd do something like this.'_

Jason knew better than anyone what Tommy had been through and was still going through—it was heart-wrenching at times, but the important thing was that he was at last dealing with it all. His future would be better because of it. A future that Jason knew, or at least hoped, he'd be a part of.

Once they hit the highway and started heading north, Jason's curiosity got the better of him again.

"So . . . gonna give me a hint?"

"Except that you're gonna like it . . . nope. No hints," he grinned.

"At least tell me what the occasion is."

"Well, I guess you could say that this is our first official date. I mean, we've hung out together here and there, spent the night at each other's houses, and then there was my party, but . . . those aren't really dates."

"So what made you decide to do this?"

"Jase, you've been through so much with me—especially lately. I just wanted to do something nice for you . . . but I plan on enjoying myself too!" he replied with a wink.

Jason smiled and winked back.

'_Now that sounds more like my Tommy.'_

"Cool. I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever it is you have planned for me," Jason said with raised eyebrows.

A little over an hour later, the 'Reefside City Limits' sign came into view.

Jason turned to Tommy. "Okay navigator, which way?"

"The place is supposed to be close to the highway. Keep going until I tell you to turn off."

"Gotcha."

Tommy consulted his own written directions which were much more specific than the map he had given Jason. The right exit came up pretty quickly.

Once on the right road, Tommy told his best friend, "Okay, now keep your eyes open for something you think is interesting—should be on the left."

"Okay . . . hmmm . . . hey, there's something nice, but it's on the right side of the road."

Tommy looked up to see a nicely-built blonde girl on the sidewalk.

He smirked at Jason. "I thought you didn't like blondes anymore."

Jason giggled. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

"Hey, if you'd rather go out with her . . . just say the word, man," Tommy retorted.

A large, strong hand planted itself on Tommy's upper thigh. "Uh uh . . . no way. I've got just what I want right here."

Tommy gave him a suspicious look, but then smiled, leaned over, and placed a kiss on his jaw line.

Another half mile up the road, a big sign came into view—'Reefside Drive-In'. The yard around the sign was decorated with hay bales, cornstalk bundles, jack-o-lanterns, and cheesy but cute ghosts hanging in the trees. The marquee proudly announced 'Classic Horror Fest'.

"Oh cool! Is this it?!" Jason asked excitedly.

Tommy grinned and nodded. "Whadya think?"

"This rocks! How did you know about this place?"

"It was in the paper. As soon as I saw the ad, I knew you'd like it."

They drove toward the ticket booth and Tommy handed over the money, telling Jason it was his treat. Then they proceeded on around to the parking area.

"Where do you think would be a good place?" Jason asked.

"Well . . . this _is_ a date, so I'd say near the back somewhere—don't you think?"

Jason grinned. "Absolutely. Of course, no one here knows us anyway, but best not to risk it."

Once they found a suitable spot, they settled down and looked at the line-up for tonight.

"Check it out: 'Frankenstein', 'Fall of the House of Usher', 'The Wolfman', and 'Dracula'. This is gonna be great!" Jason said with a big grin.

Tommy was very happy that Jason was so excited. It seemed that his surprise was coming off well.

"Yeah, and since there's so many movies, we might actually watch some of 'em," Tommy said suggestively, winking and raising an eyebrow.

Jason shot him a wicked grin. Taking his cheek in his warm hand, Jason leaned in and captured Tommy's mouth in a wet, sweet kiss. His lover moaned softly and caressed Jason's smooth, hard chest through his t-shirt.

Before they could get carried away though, a car pulled up and parked a couple of spaces over. They decided to wait a bit before getting down to the heavy stuff—at least until after dark.

"Hungry?" Tommy asked smiling when Jason's stomach loudly announced its lack of food.

Jason grinned back. "Yeah, I guess so. You?"

Tommy rubbed his stomach. "Yeah, I could eat."

"Shall we see what the snack bar has to offer?"

"Nah, I got a better idea. Pop the trunk."

"Hmm?"

"Just pop the trunk and I'll show you," Tommy said smiling and opened the door to get out.

"Okay. Whatever you say, bro."

They met around the back of the car and Tommy opened the trunk revealing a big cooler.

"When did you put that in there?" Jason asked.

Tommy grinned. "It's all part of my surprise for you."

Looking into the trunk, Jason saw snacks, sodas, paper plates, and food containers he knew to be his mom's.

"Uh huh . . . been getting my mom involved, huh?"

"Yep. She helped me with the food—you know I can't cook."

"Mmm . . . what we got?"

"Let's see . . . she made fried chicken, pasta salad, and some kind of dessert. The best stuff to eat cold. Wanna dig in?"

"Oh yeah! Suddenly I'm starving!" Jason said and grabbed a plate to start filling.

Back in the car, they pushed the front seats back as far as they would go so as to have maximum legroom. The boys relaxed, ate, and talked until the first movie started. The opening credits for "Frankenstein" began rolling as they finished their dinner and settled down to watch Boris Karloff do his stuff.

Sometime during the first part of the movie, hands intertwined and a few warm kisses were shared. A little later, Tommy noticed some stray crumbs on Jason's thigh. He reached over and brushed at the tight jeans, drawing his bro's attention.

"You got a little something there . . ." he grinned and then gave the muscular upper thigh a nice squeeze.

"Oh?" he smiled alluringly. "Did you get it?"

"Umm . . . yeah, I did." Jason leaned over and claimed Tommy's lips with his own. Hands began roaming free and they were just getting in the mood for a nice make out session when they were interrupted by an ear-piercing scream from the speaker. Startled, they sprang apart, hearts beating wildly.

"Damn . . . I gotta turn that thing down," Jason panted, trying to get himself to calm down.

Tommy was sitting with his hand on his chest, attempting to breathe deeply. "Yeah. Scared the shit outta me!"

Volume having been adjusted, they settled down once more and resumed watching the old black and white movie, occasionally commenting on the set or the effects.

"You know, this was seriously scary stuff when it came out in the 1930s," Tommy offered.

"Seems almost hokey now, but it's still classic," Jason said.

A few minutes later, Jason pulled his hand from Tommy's clasp and took his drink from its holder. Making sure that his bro wasn't watching him, he took a small cube of ice from the cup and casually tossed it into Tommy's lap.

"Ooops! My fault . . ." he grinned wickedly when his boyfriend gave him a quizzical look. "Here, let me get that."

Thankful that his Mustang had no center console dividing the seats, Jason proceeded to lean over, place an arm across Tommy's legs, and attempt to retrieve the ice with his mouth. Tommy chuckled at first, but soon began to enjoy himself as Jason's hand clutched his thigh and his nuzzling face rubbed across his crotch. With his free hand, Jason lifted the hem of Tommy's shirt, exposing a bit of bare flesh. He licked and kissed the warm skin with his cold mouth, causing Tommy to shiver.

"Mmmm . . ." he cooed and ran the fingers of one hand through Jason's spiky hair. Spreading his thighs as far apart as he could manage in the car, he laid his head against the headrest and let Jason do as he wished.

By the time the second movie started, they were in each other's arms, gently kissing necks, cheeks, earlobes—anything they could reach, basically. Not quick and heated—just soft and easy, enjoying the feeling of being together. Jason was particularly happy—it had been a while since Tommy had felt like being intimate with him. Both sighed contentedly as they snuggled together and watched part of "Fall of the House of Usher".

"You know, Edgar Allen Poe was really the Stephen King of his generation. I love his stories," Tommy remarked.

"Oh me too. Remember when we read 'The Pit and the Pendulum' in lit class last year?"

"Yeah. Didn't they make a movie out of that one too? And wasn't Vincent Price in it?"

"Yep. He's perfect for those roles—he's the man!"

Once that film had come to its creepy end, the guys decided that they wanted some popcorn.

"What's a movie marathon without popcorn?" Jason had asked.

Climbing out of the Mustang and stretching their long legs, they started in the direction of the snack bar. There was a grouping of picnic tables a few rows over from where they'd parked. Some people liked to sit out in the night air instead of in their cars.

Perched on one table was a clutch of teenage girls—they looked to be between 14-16 years old. As Jason and Tommy strolled by, lots of giggling and whispering was heard coming from their direction. Both men glanced over and the giggling increased.

Tommy looked at Jason. "I think you have some admirers, bro."

"Me? I don't have long, sexy hair. That's what I heard."

"Oh yeah? Well what I heard was 'broad chest and huge arms'—that's definitely not me."

They grinned and kept walking. Halfway there, Jason suddenly thought about the fact that they were in a different town and none of these people knew them. He clasped Tommy's hand and interlaced their fingers. When Tommy glanced at him, he just smiled and squeezed his boyfriend's hand. Tommy understood and smiled back. As they stood in line, Tommy felt a sudden rush of bravery and he leaned in and gave Jason a quick little kiss—in front of everyone. His bro looked a little surprised, but recovered quickly. A wicked little smile crossed his face. He returned the kiss, lingering a bit in the process. Public shows of affection were completely new to them—in this relationship, anyway. They casually glanced around to see if anyone was staring at them. No one seemed to be—just an approving smile from another all-male couple a little ways further back in line. Tommy gave them a friendly smile and a little nod.

Popcorn and candy in hand they turned to head back towards their car. Hands clasped again, they shared another quick kiss and were really enjoying the freedom of being able to be outwardly affectionate when they spotted a couple of the young girls headed in their direction. As soon as they noticed Tommy and Jason were holding hands, their expressions and body language changed.

As the guys walked past, one of them remarked, "Mmm mmm mmm . . . what a waste."

The other still looked shocked.

Jason didn't even lose a beat. "Sorry girls, he's taken," he said as he lifted their clasped hands higher.

"Yeah, so's he," Tommy added.

They walked on and then turned and smiled widely to each other.

"I think we took the wind out of their sails all good and proper," Jason laughed.

"Yep. I just hope they don't get it in their heads to bring their friends over to watch!"

"So what if they do? We'll give 'em a good show, right?"

Tommy grinned and shook his head. "There's that exhibitionist streak again . . ."

___________________

(Half of "The Wolfman" and most of the popcorn later)

Jason reached down beside his seat and pulled the lever up, reclining himself a good ways back. He could still see the movie, but this was much more comfortable. Tommy followed suit. He also decided to copy Jason's little antics from earlier. He casually tossed a handful of popcorn into his bro's lap.

"Tsk tsk tsk . . . my hand slipped. Here, let me get that," he said in a low voice.

Jason grinned, spread his legs a little, and put his hands behind his head. "Be my guest," he cooed.

Tommy leaned across him and picked up each piece of popcorn, one by one, with his tongue. Two of them had fallen to the seat between Jason's legs and Tommy was having trouble reaching them. He was determined, though. He grasped the muscular thighs and pressed his face in between them. Jason wiggled a bit and started to laugh, but just as he did, Tommy's face nuzzled up against the ever-tightening crotch of his jeans causing his breath to catch in his throat.

"Mmmm . . ." Jason started to wish that Tommy would just go ahead and remove that denim barrier and have his way with him. After all, his mouth was so close . . .

Tommy finally gave up on reaching the remaining popcorn with his tongue and he straightened up a bit.

"Aww, don't give up now," Jason whined. "You were doing so well . . ."

Tommy grinned and held up a finger, asking Jason to give him a minute. He reached over and tilted the steering wheel up as far as it would go to make a little more room. Putting one arm around Jason's shoulders, he leaned in and sealed their mouths together, kissing his lover soundly. His free hand grasped and kneaded Jason's strong thigh and then began moving toward his goal. The kiss deepened as Tommy's hand slid between Jason's upper thighs and found its target. Jason moaned softly, anticipating what his lover was about to do. Pulling away from the gold ranger's mouth, Tommy grinned and pulled his hand up, holding two pieces of popcorn which he tossed into his mouth with a wink.

"Ah . . . you creep. You got me all worked up for that?"

Tommy smiled as he chewed. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Jason rose up, grabbed his drink, and took a sip. "Oh yeah? How?"

His boyfriend removed the cup from his hand and placed it in the cup holder. Turning quickly on him, Tommy pushed Jason backwards against the seat and claimed his lips again, taking hold of the back of Jason's neck with one hand and his waist with the other.

"Mmmm . . ." Jason moaned into Tommy's mouth when he was pressed even more firmly into the seat. Tommy was now nearly in his lap, devouring his mouth and firmly rubbing his strong chest. Jason caressed Tommy's back while thoroughly enjoying himself. When air became necessary, Tommy at last released Jason's mouth and went to work on his neck, quickly finding that one spot that makes him crazy.

"Ahh . . . Tommy . . ." Jason moaned, fingers entangled in dark brown silk and his other hand grasping one of Tommy's muscular thighs.

Slowly, his hand slid upward—across his lover's crotch, across the button of his jeans, up onto his stomach where he pulled Tommy's t-shirt up and found warm, bare skin. Jason's wandering hand slid around his lover's waist and ran lightly up his spine, almost tickling with its gentle touch.

Tommy shivered slightly, nipping and sucking harder on the side of Jason's neck. Both of the gold ranger's hands were on Tommy's back now, drinking in the wonderful feeling of his naked, smooth flesh. His short nails slowly traced the red ranger's spine all the way down to the waistband of his jeans until one hand stole around and began pulling at the button insistently. It finally popped open, followed by Jason's fingers sliding open the zipper.

The jeans were now loose enough for Tommy's lover to slip both hands in and grasp at his firm backside.

"Mmmm," Tommy groaned and let go of Jason's neck in favour of his full, wet lips. Coaxing his mouth slightly open with well-placed licks, he probed inwardly with his tongue, exploring every recess of his lover's soft, warm mouth. Their tongues entangled and danced around each other instinctively.

Once parted, Tommy pulled back slightly from the man he was effectively pinning to the seat and started working the buttons of his shirt with one hand. After he managed to unbutton 4 or 5 of them, his warm hand ran inside the open shirt and massaged the soft skin, feeling the firm muscle underneath. Jason's chest rose and fell a little faster now and he paused in his own exploration to thoroughly enjoy the feeling of Tommy's caresses.

Tommy slid down a little and repositioned himself so that his mouth was level with his love's bare chest. His hot breath sent chills chasing up and down Jason's body. "Whatcha got in mind?" he asked in a whisper.

"Oh, something I think you'll like," Tommy answered back in a slow, breathy voice.

"Mmmm," was all that Jason could manage when he felt a wet tongue tracing the areola of his right nipple.

Tommy closed his teeth gently on the hardening nub causing a hiss from his boyfriend. He had learned that Jason liked things a bit rough, so he bit a little harder and grasped his waist firmly.

"Ahhh . . ." Jason moaned and squirmed a bit in his seat in an attempt to relieve some of the building pressure in his jeans. He didn't know how much longer he could lie there submissively—he wanted Tommy so bad . . . his lust was building to an almost unbearable level.

The red ranger flicked his tongue playfully across the hard, brown nub between his teeth and then left a trail of soft kisses, wet licks, and gentle nips before sealing his mouth on Jason's chest and beginning to suck with increasing pressure.

Jason's hands were all over his lover's body—they entangled themselves in his thick hair, trailed and tickled down his long back, and slipped as far into his jeans as the binding material would allow. Jason pulled insistently at Tommy's jeans, trying to further his access to his lower regions.

The red ranger continued to feast on his lover's bare flesh until he began to feel stiff and cramped from the position he was in. Pausing to shift and stretch a bit, he was caught off guard when Jason took hold of him by his shoulders and pressed him back into his own seat.

Jason had the upper hand now and he intended to give the hot young man under him a thorough going-over. First, he had to get that infernal fabric out of the way. Grabbing Tommy's red and black t-shirt by the hem, he pulled upward until his bro lifted his arms and helped him remove it. Tommy then pushed Jason's open shirt back off of his shoulders and it joined the t-shirt in the backseat.

Suddenly aware that they were both quickly becoming undressed, Tommy looked out the windows to make sure no one close by was watching them.

"The windows are tinted, don't sweat it," Jason said when he read Tommy's face. "Besides, it's pitch dark."

"Yeah . . . I know." He relaxed a little when he saw that his bro was right. There weren't any cars parked right beside them anyway.

Jason cupped Tommy's cheek and jaw with one large hand and brought their lips together gently. "Don't worry," he whispered. "It's okay."

Tommy just nodded and pulled Jason down, engaging him in a long, deep kiss. He placed his hands behind his head, giving Jason absolute control . . . for now. The gold ranger happily accepted the reins and began working his way down his lover's neck and back and forth across his chest—nipping and kissing as he went along. Their bare chests rubbed against each other igniting even more sparks between them.

"God, I've missed this. I love being with you," Tommy whispered.

"Mmm, me too. You have no idea . . ."

"Bet I do . . ." Tommy smiled. Just because he hadn't felt up to fooling around with Jason didn't mean he hadn't wanted to. Now that his state of mind had improved, he was anxious to make up for lost time. Jason seemed to have the same thought in mind.

His large, strong hands held Tommy in a tight grip as the tip of his tongue traced the well-defined muscles of his baby's chest and abdomen. Tommy threaded his long fingers through Jason's hair and laid his head back with a sigh.

"Mmmm . . . Jase . . . ahhhh," was all he could manage.

One of Jason's hands crept southward and slipped inside Tommy's already unbuttoned and unzipped jeans. Tommy drew in a sharp breath when he felt himself being held and massaged, ever-so-gently. Jason looked up to gauge his boyfriend's reaction while he continued to softly knead the hot flesh in his hand. Tommy was enjoying himself, of that there was no doubt, but his lover knew him so well that he could see the trace of anxiety on his face.

"Something wrong?" he asked in a gentle voice.

"Ummm . . . no," Tommy said, but his big brown eyes betrayed him. Jason could tell that he was nervous—in spite of his denial.

"Am I doing something wrong?"

"No . . . no . . . it's not that at all. What you were doing feels great. I guess I'm just . . . I don't know . . ." Tommy said, trying to put his apprehensions into words.

Jason removed his hand from Tommy's boxers and stroked his stomach. "You're nervous—I can feel it. Why?"

"I guess . . . umm . . . I suppose I'm afraid of getting caught. You know, anybody could walk by here and see us and . . . I don't know. I'm being stupid, I know." He turned his gaze from Jason and stared out the window.

"No, you're not being stupid. If that makes you uncomfortable then I'll stop. But you know, at least half of the people here are doing something similar right now," he told Tommy with a grin.

"Probably—I told you it was stupid. I'm sorry, Jase."

"Hey . . . nothing to be sorry about. We can just lie here together and watch the last movie. Maybe when we get back to my house you'll feel like continuing," Jason said with a little grin and a wink.

His bro smiled a bit. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll feel more comfortable there."

"Good."

Retrieving their shirts from the back seat, they redressed themselves and snuggled down to watch the final movie of the night—"Dracula".

Tommy was still feeling like he'd messed things up, though. Fifteen minutes into the film, he reached over and rubbed Jason's arm.

"I really am sorry, Jase."

"I told you, there's nothing to be sorry for, okay?" he said gently.

"Yeah, I know. But I'll make it up to ya, anyway."

"Mmmm . . . looking forward to it," Jason whispered and sweetly kissed Tommy's cheek.

As the movie that they'd both seen at least a dozen times played, they continued their critique of the sets, effects, and Bela Lugosi's performance. Then Jason brought up another point.

"Hey, you know Halloween is coming up at the end of next week. Decided what you're gonna be?"

"Yeah, I think so. What about you?"

"Well, at first I was considering being a gangster—you know, a mafia guy—but I don't think so."

Tommy smiled. "Well, you've certainly got the looks and the Italian blood for it."

"But I did that last year and the students in Geneva didn't get it. I guess they've never heard of Al Capone or Bugsy Malone."

Giggling, Tommy said, "No, I guess they probably wouldn't know who those guys were."

"So this year, I'm thinking about maybe being a vampire. Whatcha think?"

"Mmm . . . yeah. You'd make a really sexy one. As long as mine is the only neck you bite!"

Jason giggled. "Deal. So . . . what are you thinking about doing?"

"I've just about decided on being a pirate. But I'm gonna make it a bit grungier than I did before—more realistic."

"Like not bathing for a week?" Jason grinned.

Tommy wrinkled his nose. "No . . . I said grungy—not _nasty_. You know, ripped clothes, weapons, jewellery that looks like something from a buried treasure . . . maybe a leather coin purse with some pieces of eight."

"How about a headscarf with stuff hanging from it—or you could braid it into your hair."

"Yeah, that'd work. So, are you thinking the classic vampire like that . . ." he said, pointing to the screen, ". . . suit, high-collared cape, hair slicked back—or a more modern look like in 'Interview with A Vampire'?"

"Umm . . . I like the modern look better—leather pants, silk shirt, maybe a cool long jacket of some kind, spike my hair up . . ."

Tommy grinned again. "Mmmm . . . sounds hot. Can't wait to see you in tight leather pants! Where are you gonna get 'em from?"

"I . . . umm . . . already own some actually. Bought 'em in Europe."

"Really?! And why haven't you modeled 'em for me?"

"Well, I kinda forgot about them, to tell you the truth. I didn't even think about those pants until I started planning my costume."

"Pull those puppies out and let's have a look!" He stopped and suddenly got a huge grin on his face. "I know, model 'em for me on your Harley—no shirt, no shoes—just skin and leather—I'll take lots of pictures. Whatcha think?" He was planning on taking advantage of his baby's exhibitionist streak.

"Are you making fun of me, bro?"

"No! I'm serious . . . really. I'd love to have some pictures like that—you know, for when I get lonely . . ." he said with a wink. He stopped and imagined the scene . . .

Jason straddling his big, shiny Harley Davidson softtail wearing only a pair of tight, black leather pants—unbuttoned and partially unzipped, of course—small earrings . . . oh, and sunglasses for some shots—gotta see those midnight eyes in some too.

As he daydreamed, he absentmindedly licked his lips. "Mmm . . . yeah, you need to do that."

Jason gave him a sly grin. "Fine . . . as long as you model something sexy for me, too."

"Sure. What'd you have in mind?"

"How 'bout your birthday suit?" Jason suggested with a big grin.

"You've seen that."

"Yeah, but I never get tired of it! Hey, maybe we could get you some leathers—you'd be smokin' hot wrapped in black leather!"

Tommy gave him a quirky look. "Me in leather?"

"Why not? You wear spandex . . ."

"Only in the line of duty."

"And don't think I don't appreciate the view, but seriously . . . you'd be somethin' else in leather. Maybe we can even get you a Harley!"

"Uh huh . . . you payin'?"

"We'll see . . ."

______________________

As "Dracula" came to an end, the boys straightened up and stretched a bit. Tommy yawned.

"Ready to start home?" Jason asked.

"Mmm, yeah. What time is it, anyway?"

Jason glanced at the clock in the dashboard. "Holy shit! It's almost 2! Mom's gonna wonder what happened to us."

Tommy waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, taken care of."

"Huh?"

"I told her what we were doing and where we were going—she knows we're gonna be late getting back."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about good ol' Mom being an accessory to this scheme of yours," he smiled. "I enjoyed our first date—thanks, baby," he added and leaned over to give Tommy a nice kiss or two or twelve.

"Oh, you're welcome, but it's not over yet . . . I still have to do some making up when we get home."

"Hey, that's right. Let's get going!"

________________________

The ride home was dark and uneventful, so try as he might, Tommy just couldn't keep himself from dozing off. Jason glanced over at him lovingly while he slept, thinking how cute he was. He turned the stereo up a bit to keep himself company.

"Hmmm? Wha- . . ." Tommy felt someone shaking him. He had just been having a great dream about a nearly nude Jason on the beach when this infernal shaking started.

"Tommy . . . bro, wake up."

"Hmm? Oh . . . where are we?" he slurred and yawned.

"We're home."

"Already?" He sat up and saw the familiar scene of Jason's driveway through the windshield. "That was fast."

Jason chuckled. "Only because you've been asleep for 45 minutes."

"45 minutes?! Oh damn, I'm sorry, bro. I didn't mean to . . ."

" 'sokay. I had the CD player to keep me company."

Tommy looked at him sheepishly. "Now I have something _else_ to make up for."

Jason knew an opportunity when he saw one. "Yeah . . . man, whatever you got planned—you better make it gooood!" he said with an exaggerated wink.

The red ranger thought he had just the thing—something he had wanted to try for a while. Well, for a while before everything got side-railed by all this seizure/stress/depression business. But things were back on track now and he was interested again. Question was—did he have the nerve?

Taking the cooler into the house and stashing the leftovers in the fridge, they slowly make their way up the stairs and closed the door to Jason's room.

"Make sure it's locked, k?" Tommy said.

Jason nodded, checked the lock, and began kicking off his shoes. Turning toward Tommy and opening his arms, he asked, "Shall I undress myself or reserve that task for you?"

"Oh, let me do it—I've got a knack for getting you naked and hard at the same time."

Jason smiled widely. "That you do, bro. That you do."

Tommy crossed to him and pulled him up into a deep, hot kiss. As their tongues intertwined, Jason felt him begin to unbutton his shirt. When all was undone, Tommy slowly pushed the open shirt back off of Jason's broad shoulders and dropped it in the floor. Jason's hands rested on Tommy's waist just to stay out of the way, but soon he began lifting the hem of the t-shirt in an attempt to rid his lover of it.

"Can I?" he asked, not wanting to interrupt Tommy's plans.

His bro nodded and lifted his arms to allow it. The shirt ended up in the floor as well. Now both bare-chested, Tommy brought his hands up to frame Jason's handsome face and pulled him into another kiss—slow, deep, and passionate. His hands roamed lower and his mouth soon followed—down his neck, onto his shoulders, slowly reaching his chest. When Tommy gave both of Jason's nipples a pinch simultaneously, the gold ranger drew in a sharp breath and felt himself getting more and more aroused. The pinch was followed by licks, kisses, and nips—Jason held onto Tommy to keep himself from swaying . . .

"Ohhh . . . damn," he moaned.

Tommy knelt in front of him and slowly pulled his open hands down Jason's chest until he reached the narrow waist. He looked up into Jason's eyes and ever so slowly unbuttoned and unzipped the gold ranger's jeans, folding the waistband down a ways. Burying his face in Jason's belly, he snuggled and kissed while sliding his hands around to his bro's back. He held him there for a while kneading the muscles of Jason's lower back and sides—nuzzling his tummy.

Jason's hands threaded through the long, silky tresses and stroked gently. He wanted so badly to reach more of Tommy's body, but dared not move—Tommy was quite intent on what he was doing.

He soon gave Jason's navel a quick little poke with his tongue, looked up at his boyfriend with an amused grin, and then turned back to his feast. He quickly had Jason's jeans pushed down his hips almost before the gold ranger realized what was happening.

Tommy grasped Jason's tight cheeks while biting and pulling playfully at the waistband of the black boxers. He soon relieved Jason of his jeans and added to the growing clothes pile on the floor.

'_He sure is taking his sweet time,'_ Jason thought.

Turning back to his hot, scantily-clad boyfriend, Tommy ran his fingers under the waistband of the remaining garment and locked his eyes with Jason's as he pulled them steadily down.

From his position, he caught the faint scent of Jason's arousal and it sent sparks directly into his groin. "Mmmm . . ."Tommy moaned as he nuzzled against Jason's upper thighs. He kissed and nipped at those muscular legs, grasping them by the back.

Tommy's proximity to his crotch was driving Jason crazy. He could feel the feathery touch of the red ranger's long, soft hair on his fully erect manhood and it was more than he could stand.

"Tommy . . . please . . . touch me," he groaned.

The red ranger looked up with a thoroughly provocative look. "Touch you where, love?" he whispered breathily.

'_He's making me ask for it . . .'_

"You know what I want," Jason gasped.

He did, too. "Mmmm . . ." Tommy moaned and turned his face, rubbing his cheeks against Jason's thick rod. He placed a kiss above the base and again inhaled the heady scent of him.

'_Well . . . are you gonna do it?' _Tommy's inner voice asked._ 'Can you go through with it?'_

He still wasn't sure. He really wanted to—he knew Jason wanted it too, but . . . it was a huge step. He carried on rubbing and kissing for the moment, unsure of what to do.

'_Not yet.'_

Standing slowly, he caressed the warm, naked body in front of him and pressed his lips to Jason's hungrily. As their tongues duelled, Jason decided it was his turn and he took hold of Tommy's jeans and quickly had them unbuttoned and unzipped. He was getting impatient—the long weeks of almost no intimate contact caught up to him—he wanted, no _needed_ Tommy now—and he was ready to go further than they ever had before.

He broke the kiss and urgently pulled at Tommy's remaining clothes, removing both his jeans and his boxers together.

"Not wasting any time, huh?" Tommy asked in a whisper.

"Nope . . . can't stand it anymore . . . got to have you now . . ." Jason whispered back in a rough voice while kissing and nipping at his boyfriend's shoulder.

Standing together as they were, they could each feel the lust-stoked heat coming off the other. Hands roamed free over all that naked flesh, raising the temperature another couple of degrees.

"Let's lie down," Tommy breathed into Jason's ear.

Jason nodded and turned out the remaining light, leaving his bedroom bathed in moonlight. They moved across the room to the big queen bed and laid down together—quickly entangling their legs and wrapping arms around each other. It was warm enough in the room not to need the covers. Besides, they would soon just be in the way.

Jason had immediately captured Tommy's lips in a demanding kiss, probing and exploring every recess of his mouth. They lay together for long minutes, tasting each other, feeling each other's bodies, drinking in the scent of the other's flesh.

"So, how do you plan on making things up to me, hmmm?" he asked when they came up for air.

Tommy gazed into the midnight eyes alight with passion and reached up between their bodies to stroke the broad chest. "I have a good idea. I'm just waiting for the right moment."

"Well, we're in bed together, naked as the day we were born, and both ready to go—ever seen a better moment?" He was growing more curious and even more anxious to find out what Tommy had thought up.

'_Showtime, Oliver. Get on with it.' _There was that little voice in Tommy's head again. "Are you ready for something new?"

Jason grinned. "Always, bro. Whatcha got in mind?"

"I'd rather show you," he said, trying to sound alluring, but he was certain that his voice betrayed him. He was nervous.

Untangling himself, he rose up to his knees and moved down to Jason's legs. He gently coaxed them apart and knelt carefully between them.

Jason half expected Tommy to reach for the tube in the nightstand drawer, but he was making no move toward it. Instead, he continued his caresses—thighs, waist, abs, pecs, biceps—each received a thorough going over with warm hands and a wet tongue--all the way up until he lay stretched out on top of that gorgeous body underneath him. Tommy kissed him soundly—he felt as if he were trying to draw courage from the very spirit of his lover.

Jason, knowing his boyfriend as he did, sensed that he was a bit on edge—not quite sure about what he had planned.

"Tommy?"

"Hmmm?" he answered, trying to sound as if nothing was bothering him. He carried on nibbling at Jason's neck.

Jason rubbed Tommy's sides and tried to help him relax. "I just wanted to make sure you knew how much I love you. I don't know if I've told you that tonight."

Tommy stopped what he was doing and looked into Jason's face and smiled. "I love you too. You know that, right?"

Jason nodded. "Remember when we first got together? I told you that you were my dream come true . . . remember that?"

Tommy smiled warmly and nodded.

"Well, you still are," Jason whispered softly, sincerity glowing in his eyes.

Tommy placed a tender kiss on his lips. "And you're mine."

They kissed again, deeper this time, and Tommy felt some of the tension melt away. He gathered his courage and pulled back away from Jason's body—back to the kneeling position he'd started in. He bent over and started placing little kisses all over his boyfriend's belly and hips, working his way toward that central prize. He brought a hand up to gently caress the silk over steel shaft making Jason moan and shiver a bit.

Tommy found his favourite spot—the soft skin that stretched across his hipbone—and started sucking and biting gently. His free hand continued to tickle, caress, and gently stroke Jason's rock-hard manhood.

"Mmm . . . Tommy . . . ahhh . . ."

Sure that he'd left at least a small mark, Tommy turned his attention back to his plan.

'_I can do this . . . I can. I love Jason more than anything . . .'_

He began by placing wet little kisses all along the warm length, pausing here and there to accustom himself to the sensation of this baby smooth skin on his lips.

'_It's really not any different than kissing Jason anywhere else,'_ his little voice told him.

He ventured a quick little lick. Fireworks were going off in Jason's mind—he had hoped that this was what Tommy had planned, but hadn't dared dream. He watched as his bro gently kissed and stroked him—it was driving him crazy. He wanted more . . . he wanted to feel Tommy's hot, wet mouth on him—all around him . . . feel his tongue caressing him . . . the images in his mind were driving him mad.

The quick little lick turned into more little licks—longer ones, as Tommy settled himself down and found that this wasn't as difficult as he had made it out to be--as long as he didn't think too much.

Continuing with his exploration, Tommy was gaining in courage, but still felt unsure as to how to go about this. He'd had it done to him, but he'd never taken the active role himself.

He pressed his lips more firmly to the warm skin and ventured lower with his free hand. Jason reacted by trying to relax and open his legs a little wider. With the extra space, Tommy held, cupped, and massaged him, making Jason's eyes flutter closed.

After a couple of minutes though, Tommy all but stopped. He had shifted a bit before, but kept on with what he had been doing.

'_This isn't working,'_ he thought.

Jason looked up to see what was going on and why the exquisite torture had stopped. "You okay, bro?"

Tommy squirmed a little. "This position isn't working—my legs are cramping."

He finally decided that the only comfortable way was for him to get down in the floor with Jason sitting on the bed. He moved from between Jason's legs and stood, holding out his hand for his bro's. He pulled Jason up into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and knelt on the floor. Jason leaned back, propping himself up, watching what his boyfriend was about to do.

The red ranger gently took hold of the thick rod again and caressed it with his cheeks.

'_Now, this is better. This angle works,' _Tommy decided.

'_So get on with it already,' _his inner voice demanded.

He took a steadying breath and pressed his mouth to the warm head. Slowly, he opened his lips and gently began to draw Jason's length gradually into his mouth. He had to go slowly and steadily to keep his nerve. He went just far enough to feel the ridge and then curled his lips and pulled back slightly.

Moving forward again, he paused momentarily at the same spot and then took a little more. He tried to breathe normally in an attempt to keep his nerves at bay. Each time in and out he went a little further. Jason moaned every time, giving Tommy a little more courage. Finally, he was at his limit.

'_Wouldn't do to try to go too far and end up gagging myself.'_

Jason watched through slitted eyes as over half of his length disappeared inside his boyfriend's mouth. The moist warmth felt wonderful—couple that with the sight of him actually doing it . . .

Tommy now added his tongue to the mix. He stroked back and forth and drew little circles, making Jason draw in a sharp breath. Tommy pulled back and then allowed his tongue to move all over the tip, tracing the ridge and lingering in the little 'V'.

Just as he was about to stop and ask if he was doing okay, his bro moaned deeply—he had his answer. Emboldened, he let his tongue wrap around the shaft and draw his mouth back down onto it where he began to gently suck. Gradually, he increased the pressure and drew more of Jason into his mouth. The gold ranger's head dropped backwards, his breathing laboured and quick.

"Ahhh . . . god, Tommy . . ." he managed to whisper between audible breaths. "Keep going . . ."

The red ranger smiled a bit around his mouthful and continued to do what he now knew pleased his lover. Unable to hold himself back any longer, Jason bucked his hips and Tommy met him with his tongue, establishing a rhythm that was exciting to both of them. Tommy felt himself grow fully hard—he was as aroused by this experience as Jason was. All thought ceased—instinct took over.

Jason held back as long as he could, but soon he felt himself about to lose it. Tommy felt the tell-tale tightening and knew what was about to happen, but didn't stop. If anything, he doubled his efforts.

All at once, the gold ranger hit his climax with a deep, growling moan--his whole body stiffening. Tommy waited for his baby to relax a little and then continued to suckle—more gently now.

Jason raised up and threaded his fingers into Tommy's thick hair and held him. When Tommy stopped, Jason pulled him up into a fierce kiss. He could taste his own essence and god, that excited him. He wrapped his arms around his lover and pulled him onto the bed and on top of him, into a full body embrace. They kissed again, more softly this time.

"Mmmm, baby . . . that was incredible," Jason whispered, still trying to catch his breath.

Tommy just smiled. They lay in each other's arms for long minutes until Jason decided it was time for him to return the favour.

He thought that the same position they had used before was probably easiest, so he coaxed Tommy up into a sitting position and took his place on the floor. He was nervous too.

'_Okay, just do what Tommy did,'_ he thought as he drew a steadying breath.

The red ranger could tell that Jason was a bit unsure of himself, so he straightened up and pulled his boyfriend's head into his own warm chest and stroked his hair.

"It's okay—it's not as hard as you think—once you get started."

Jason nodded and turned his face up to kiss him before settling back down. He took hold of Tommy's muscular thighs and massaged and kneaded them slowly, working his way up. He leaned in and kissed his flat belly, nuzzling it a little. Lowering his face, he stroked the baby smooth skin of Tommy's manhood with his cheeks and then with his hands, causing his bro to moan softly.

'_Go ahead . . . you know you want to . . .'_ his own little inner voice demanded.

He did want it—he was just having a spot of trouble getting over that first hurdle. Leaning in slowly, he caught the scent of his lover's arousal—that purely Tommy smell. It sent jolts of electricity into his reawakening cock and made his mouth water. The gold ranger's body was ready, even if his mind was lagging a bit behind.

Timidly, he began placing small kisses all along Tommy's length and then continued with little licks. The moans coming from the bed urged him on and soon he was using bolder swipes of his tongue, tasting Tommy from root to tip.

Pressing his lips against the warm skin, he opened them slowly and drew him a little ways into his mouth. He could feel the ridge with his lips and he paused to catalogue the sensation. He went a little further and then pulled back, curling his lips in and moving slowly.

He copied Tommy's technique of taking a little at a time until he was at his limit. He massaged with his tongue, feeling the stiffness of Tommy's shaft and loving it. When he finally began to suck gently, Tommy nearly came off the bed.

"Jaaaassssseee . . ." he hissed and clutched the bed covers with both fists.

'_Well, I'm doing something right, that's for sure,'_ was one of the last coherent thoughts he was to have for a while.

Tommy's pleasure-filled moans excited him further and he stepped up his effort. Drawing Tommy in as far as he could and then pulling back firmly again and again, he sucked harder and harder until Tommy couldn't last any longer. With a deep cry, he tumbled over the precipice, floating on a cloud of exquisite sensation.

Once he relaxed, Jason released him and climbed up on the bed, turning to lie down beside him. They wrapped all around each other, feeling closer than they ever had before. They shared a few deep, sweet kisses.

Jason managed to get them both covered and they drifted off to sleep together, thoroughly sated.

____________________

_Author's Notes: Whew!! Hot enough for ya?! It gets better . . . just wait! _

_I have posted a poll question on my profile—head over there and answer it for me!_

_Thank you so much for all the reviews on the last chapter! Please continue to make me squeal with delight by reviewing this one!!_


	25. Pirates, Vampires, and Gladiators, Oh My

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Still Rated 'M' for a reason!

Okay, you guys liked the fluff so much that I'm gonna do a whole happy little arc—I'll get back to the serious stuff in another few chapters. Enjoy!

Thank you again to "Shwing Shwing" and "Kat Nip" for helping me out with Halloween ideas.

**Chapter 25—Pirates, Vampires, and Gladiators, Oh My!**

"Jacques?"

"Yes?"

"Hey man, it's me, Jason."

"Jason! Hey! How are you?"

"I'm good, really good. And you?"

"Fine. I've been meaning to email you."

"Same here. Been a little weird around here lately."

"Oh? You and Tommy still okay, right?"

"Oh yeah . . . better than okay, actually. That's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you."

"Yeah?"

"I need some advice, er . . . suggestions . . . on some websites."

"Websites?"

"You know . . . sites to give me some ideas . . . and maybe some information . . . on stuff with Tommy. You know what I mean."

"Wow, you're shy. Are you talking about gay porn stuff?"

Jason groaned. "I suppose I am."

Jacques giggled. "Sorry. So I take it things are progressing well with you two?"

"Definitely."

"Is he every bit as amazing as you thought he'd be?"

"And more. He's . . . damn, Jacques . . . I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Aww, that's sweet. I'm happy for you, man. I can't wait to meet him."

"And you will—still planning on summer break, right?"

"Absolutely! I'm anxious to see California!"

"Good. We'll show you a good time—I promise. So, about those websites . . ."

"There's lots of 'em out there."

"I know, but you know the good ones—the ones that could actually help me. Not the real kinky, weird stuff."

Jacques giggled again. "Okay, I'll send you a list email, that okay?"

"Sure. So, what about you? Anyone special these days?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. His name is Mathias. We met about a month ago."

"Mathias? Tall, blonde, German guy?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Last name . . . uh . . . dammit, what was his last name?" He paused for a moment. "Mueller! Mathias Mueller from Stuttgart?"

"Ummm yeah . . . you know him?"

"We sorta dated for a while."

"You did?! When?"

"Yeah, last year. It wasn't anything major. He's a cool guy. You two should make a good couple."

"Think so?"

"Yeah. Tell 'em I said 'Hi!'."

They talked for a while longer about school, holiday plans, and all sorts of stuff. Jason told him about their Halloween plans and promised to send Jacques some pictures of The Vampire and The Pirate. Then they hung up.

Jason sat at his desk thinking for a while. The weekend that had just passed was such a special time for him and Tommy. First, their date on Friday night was lots of fun—the drive-in had been great. It was so sweet of Tommy to go to all that trouble for their 'first date'. And when they got back home . . . wow! He closed his eyes and recalled the feelings and sensations of that night. He especially remembered his first '69'.

After they had taken turns pleasuring each other, they had fallen asleep rather quickly. They were pretty worn out from school, their date and all the fooling around they did in the car, the drive, and then their escapades at home. But they didn't stay asleep for very long. About dawn, Tommy woke up and just couldn't resist touching, rubbing, and playing with his big boyfriend. Jason soon woke at being handled and stroked and joined in the fun. That carried on for a while. A nice game of slap and tickle is always fun!

However, their good time grew less and less amusing and more and more passionate as it went along. All those raging hormones got the best of the two buck naked young men and they suddenly felt like they could eat each other alive. All at once, they were grasping, touching, biting, pulling, grabbing, kissing, and licking any bare flesh they could reach. They entangled their bodies—thrusting and sliding against each other—moaning and purring as new delightful sensations were found. Both hard enough to cut diamonds, they needed to find relief—together.

It was Tommy that suggested the position—Jason had never done that before, but was willing to try anything with Tommy. They turned so that their bodies were head to foot and began to explore each other in a new way. Even though they were still a bit unsure, they didn't let that stop them. The fire of lust—and love—was burning too hot to be ignored.

Not as tentative this time, each grasped the tantalizing, silk-over-steel shaft that lay in front of them, licking and kissing for a few seconds before wrapping their moist lips around it and beginning to suck gently. Soon, gentleness gave way to urgency as they both increased their efforts. Very quickly they both reached climax—one right after the other. Afterward, they had lain in each other's arms, talking about what other mischief they could get up to before eventually falling asleep.

Saturday had dawned bright and cool—too cool to do anything outdoors, so they opted instead for the library. Tommy only had a little more to finish on a History project and he would be completely caught up.

"Looks like I'll graduate with you guys after all!" he had announced excitedly when he realized how close he was.

"Never doubted you for a minute," Jason answered.

That afternoon, the rangers were called on once again to show Gasket who was boss and they did so with little trouble.

Once back at the Power Chamber, they all congratulated each other on yet another job well done and decided to head for the showers. The girls opted instead to go to Kat's—they had too much to do to get involved in the guys' shower games. Billy usually stayed clear as well. Rocky, Adam, Jason, and Tommy couldn't understand why—it was all good, clean(?) fun—sorta like the football locker room showers after a big victory. Yeah, it could get a bit rough, but hey—they were all men, right? Well, except for Kat and Tanya—they usually just watched and laughed . . . and enjoyed the view of four muscular, wet, naked guys chasing each other around, popping bare asses with towels, getting tackled for their offense, and retaliating in any number of ways. But it seemed that since it was revealed that not everyone on the team was straight, the girls didn't hang around anymore. To Rocky's credit, he hadn't let it bother him too much. A little at first maybe, but lately he was back to acting like his old, goofy self.

As Tommy and Jason were coming out of their quarters—each ranger had his or her own bedroom there that they could use as they wished—they met up with Adam who was on his way to the showers as well.

"Hey Froggy, wait up!" Jason called loudly.

Adam turned to see the gold and red rangers sauntering up behind him, wearing only small towels tucked low around their hips.

'_Ho-lee shit,'_ the green ranger thought as he got an eyeful. _'What a view . . .'_

As they caught up, Tommy threw an arm around his shoulders. "Nice moves out there, Adam. Somebody teach you some new tricks?"

"Maybe. Rocky and I have been taking that Brazilian jiu-jitsu class, ya know."

"Yeah, that's right. Payin' off, huh?" Jason asked.

"I guess it has. I'll be glad to show you guys some moves if you want."

'_Hmm. Maybe that's not such a good idea. All I need is to get tangled up with one of them on the floor, legs wrapped around each other, all hot and sweaty . . .'_ Adam forced his mind to behave.

Just then Rocky joined them in the hallway.

"Hey Rock. We were just complimenting Adam on his new moves. You got any we haven't seen?" Tommy asked with a grin.

"Oh yeah . . . I got lots I haven't favoured you with yet. Just wait . . ."

"Is that right?"

"Hey, those jiu-jitsu lessons sound like fun, Adam. Tommy and I are already pretty good at getting wrapped around each other!" Jason said with an exaggerated wink and leer in Tommy's direction.

Tommy just grinned and rolled his eyes. He knew Jason was just doing it to get a rise out of Rocky.

"Oh whatever, you sex fiend," Rocky said, giving Jason a sneer.

"What? This doesn't get you hot, Rocky?" Jason asked, running his hands suggestively up and down his chest and abs, licking his lips.

Rocky rolled his eyes.

"What about _this_? This, my friend, is USDA Grade 'A' _Choice_!" he said, rubbing Tommy in much the same way.

Tommy smacked his hands away, laughing. "Why do I suddenly feel like a rib roast?"

"Sorry guys . . . I'm not impressed," Rocky said.

'Impresses the hell outta me!' Adam thought.

"Wanna be impressed?" Jason said with a wicked grin and started to go for the towel wrapped around his hips when Tommy stopped him.

"Whoa . . . keep your toys put away! That's for my eyes only!" he winked. They'd all seen each other naked so many times they'd lost count anyway.

Adam looked at them laughing. "You guys are too much . . ."

"What do _you_ think, Adam? Could me or Tommy get _you_ all hot and bothered?" Jason laughed.

Adam couldn't believe he'd ask that. Well, he could believe it—Jason had no way of knowing what went on in his mind. But what could he say? He decided to play along—nothing ventured, nothing gained after all.

"Yeah—in a second."

Jason's eyes got wide. _'Did I hear him right?'_

He stole a quick look at Tommy who wore the same expression.

"Which?"

"Either . . . or both," Adam said nonchalantly and continued on toward the showers leaving all three guys to pick up their lower jaws off the floor.

Once they reached the large shower room, they each picked out a stall and turned on the water. Tommy and Jason started out in separate stalls, but they knew that wouldn't last long. After all, there are spots one just can't reach, right?

Tommy turned to go find his shampoo and ran right up against Adam who was going in the other direction.

"Oops, sorry," the green Zeo ranger said as Tommy looked down at him amused.

"No problem," he said and started by him, but stopped quickly and put a hand on his shoulder. "Did you mean what you said earlier? Umm . . . about . . . you know."

Adam swallowed hard and looked up into those deep, chocolate eyes. "Yeah . . . I did." He paused. "Come on T., you and Jason . . . you both must know how nice-looking you are." He reached up with a shaky hand and gingerly placed it on Tommy's waist. "I'm only flesh and blood . . ." he said and walked off into a shower stall several feet away.

Tommy was flabbergasted. He reached in and turned off the water in his stall and entered the one where Jason was just getting all nice and soapy.

"Hey—that was fast," he said, but then he noticed that Tommy wasn't even damp. He still wore a bit of a shocked look, too.

Tommy leaned in close. "You're not gonna believe what Adam just said to me," he started, and then proceeded to tell Jason about the exchange just moments ago.

Jason grinned madly. "Hey . . . what's the problem? Sounds like a nice threesome to me . . ." He was kidding, of course. At least Tommy figured he was. The whole male/male sexual thing was still new to them—too early to even think about such things.

"Tommy, god . . . you're thinking too much. Just take it as a compliment and let it go at that."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm over-thinking this." He had let it go after that, concentrating on getting his body and increasingly long hair washed. Jason helped, of course.

As a matter of fact, they had just pulled each other close under the warm spray when suddenly there came a 'BAM!!' and a groaning "Oww! Uhh . . . I'm good . . ." The boys stuck their heads out of the stall and looked in the direction of the noise.

There sat Adam on his ass with a pained look on his face. The shampoo, soap, and stuff he'd been carrying were strewn on the floor around him.

Rocky giggled. "A bit slick, huh?"

"Uhh . . . just a bit," Adam groaned, rubbing his left asscheek.

Both Tommy and Jason were grinning madly. "You okay, Froggy?" Tommy asked, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah," he said, picking his butt up off the tiled floor. "Like I said, I'm good—that smarts, though."

"Slippery down that way?" Jason asked. He looked at the growing puddle of water that had begun around the drain. "Looks like the drain's clogged."

He walked down that way and looked. It was indeed stopped up, but the floor was far too slippery for that to be the cause.

Once Adam had gotten his things picked up, Jason backed up several steps and then ran at it, sliding across the floor like he was on a boogieboard in the surf.

"Hey! That's fun! Come on and try it, Tommy!"

"No thanks. I've gotta try to get all the knots out of this stuff that you put in there," he said while trying to comb through his mane.

"Adam?"

"Uh no . . . I've already been up close and personal with the floor today, thank you."

"Spoil sports. Fine. Hey Rocky . . ." he started as he took off again toward the puddle.

Just as Jason started his second hydroplaning act, Rocky stepped out of the stall right into the oncoming path of the big Mack truck.

'BAM!!' They collided hard and tumbled to the floor, Jason landing on top of Rocky.

"Whoa!" Rocky exclaimed, dazed. Then he realized that he was naked . . . Jason was naked . . . and he was being pinned to the floor by said nude gold ranger.

"WHOA!!" he shouted and started struggling under Jason's superior size and weight.

Jason laughed hard and looked down at him with a wicked leer. "What's wrong, Rocko?"

"You're naked and on top of me! That's what!" he yelled, trying his best to breathe under the gold ranger's crushing weight.

"Awww . . . you don't like?" he said and gripped Rocky a little tighter with his thighs.

"Get your hairy legs off of me! TOMMY!! Come get your boyfriend! He won't get off me!"

Adam had moved over to stand right beside the two writhing bodies on the floor. He was practically doubled over with laughter. Rocky wasn't hurt, neither was Jason—but his childhood friend had an annoyed and slightly freaked out look on his face. It was hilarious to the green ranger.

"Hey! You're supposed to be my best friend! How 'bout a little help?" Rocky pleaded with Adam.

"Throw some jiu-jitsu moves on him—you're in the right position!" Adam responded.

Rocky looked up into Jason's madly grinning face. "Uh uh . . . we're naked! Tommy!!"

The red ranger finally walked down there, still working the knots out of his hair. He watched Rocky struggling without success. "Yeah?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Get him off me! Doesn't this bother you?!"

"No, I usually just lay there and enjoy it. Mind you, he can be a bit dominating," he said, trying hard not to crack a smile.

Adam howled with laughter.

Finally, Rocky just stopped struggling and surrendered. "Please Jason, ruler of men and master of all you survey—please get your big ass off me!"

"Fine. That's all you had to say," he quipped and got up, extending a hand to the blue Zeo ranger. "And by the way, my ass is not big—it's just right," he said, rubbing his backside.

"Mmm-hmm . . . okay," Rocky retorted.

__________________________

Back in the present, Jason smiled thinking over their escapades of the weekend. By now it was late on Sunday and he was supposed to be working on an English paper—comparing and contrasting something or other—but he just couldn't keep his mind on it.

His thoughts kept drifting back to Tommy and how their relationship had grown and changed since he had come home from Switzerland. He had never thought that things would move along so well and so quickly. Except for the 2 or 3 weeks after Gasket had snatched Tommy and had started this whole domino effect of stress-headaches-depression-family problems-more stress-seizure-counselling-depression, etc . . . things had gone really well. Tommy was finally getting back to his old self now and Jason was so very glad of it.

Their intimate encounters were definitely improving and progressing. Jason found himself wondering about the first time they'd really make love. To be joined together with his lover in as intimate and close a way as is possible was Jason's fondest wish. It frightened him a little, too. He felt that he understood the basic mechanics of it—the 'fold flap A into slot B' part, but . . . there was so much more to it than that. The emotional part of the physical act is what made him a little timid.

'_But . . . I can do anything as long as Tommy's with me. Once we get down to it, I'll bet it won't be that scary.'_

He closed his eyes and imagined what it would be like . . . Before he realized it, his mouth was watering, his pulse had quickened, and he was fully aroused.

'_Man, I've got it bad, but . . . Mmmm yeah . . . I gotta talk to him about this.'_

They needed to make some plans.

___________________________

The boys' free time over the next couple of days was spent mostly on trying to get their Halloween costumes together. Tommy was having more trouble than Jason was—Jason practically had most of his already—he just needed a silk shirt with a poufy ascot and long cuffs and a Victorian-style knee-length or so jacket with some kind of trim work. He had the leather pants, boots, and other stuff already.

Speaking of boots, that was one thing that Tommy was having trouble finding. He wanted the half-calf boots with the big cuff on the top, but those would have to come from a serious costumier and Angel Grove was seriously lacking in that area. He and Jason had been to every place in town that sold or rented costumes and had found lots of stuff he could use—toy weapons, pieces of eight in a leather money pouch, a cool leather headscarf and hat—but the footwear was proving difficult.

Rocky and Adam were having similar problems. They had decided on their costumes, but there was always a piece or two that proved impossible to find. Rocky had decided on being a gladiator while Adam opted for the kinder, gentler character of Aladdin. He definitely had the looks and the build for it—it was those damn slippers that he couldn't find and his mother couldn't make.

Rocky suddenly remembered that Stone Canyon had a pretty good-sized costume shop, so they all headed over there after school on Wednesday. As Halloween was on Saturday, they were cutting it close, but as it turned out, they were all in luck. Tommy found some boots that would do—they weren't leather, but he couldn't have afforded the real leather ones anyway. Adam found his slippers and Rocky located his sword, shield, and some Romanesque sandals that would work. Jason lucked up and found a long jacket that would work, but his mother would have to put the trim on it and let out the sleeves a little—his biceps were about to burst the seams.

The big plans for Saturday were as follows: Meet up at the Youth Center about 3pm and help take some of the smaller kids trick or treating while it was still light outside. Then they were gonna go to a haunted house when it got dark and then back to Rocky's for a party he was throwing for his close friends. This was the topic of conversation on the way back from Stone Canyon.

Adam seemed like he had something on his mind while they drove. Finally, he spoke up.

"Rocky, would it be okay if I brought someone to the party?"

"Sure. Who?"

"Umm . . . I kinda met someone. He's really nice and I think you guys will like him. I'd like for you all to meet him. That okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Rocky answered.

"That's cool, Adam," Tommy said, very happy that his friend had apparently met someone special. "Where'd you meet him?"

"He plays soccer with me and I've been teaching him a little karate here and there. His name is Carlos."

"Oh yeah . . . I think I know who you mean--Hispanic guy, shoulder-length hair?" Jason asked.

"Yep, that's him."

"Oh, I know that guy. I see him at lunch every day out in the courtyard practicing with his soccer ball," Tommy added.

Adam grinned. "Uh huh." He turned back to his best friend. "Rock, are you sure you're okay with this? It was just a thought—I don't have to bring him. I haven't even asked him yet . . ." His nerves were causing him to talk way too fast.

"Whoa, slow down," Rocky said and placed a hand on Adam's arm. "It's fine . . . really. Don't have a stroke," he smiled.

Adam beamed. "Okay. I'll ask him then. Thanks guys."

Tommy thought Adam looked so cute when he was excited about something and he was certainly excited now.

_______________________________

Jason did actually model his tight, leather pants for Tommy. One afternoon at the Scotts', Tommy reminded him of his promise and he pulled them out of the back of his walk-in closet and disappeared into the bathroom with them.

"What's the matter? Are they so tight that you have to grease yourself up to get in 'em?!" Tommy laughed.

"No, smartass. I just want the effect to be right. Give me a second," Jason called from behind the door.

Tommy sat patiently and within a few minutes, Jason came out of the bathroom with the leathers on—no shirt, no shoes—just a yinyang necklace and a small earring. His lover's mouth fell open.

"Daaaaaaamn . . ." he said quietly and then whistled in appreciation. They looked like they had been custom-made just for him. They sat below his waist and hugged his trim hips while emphasizing that beautifully rounded ass and that tasty-looking bulge in the front. You could tell how muscular his thighs were even through the leather. The same-colour laces down the sides made his legs look longer than usual.

"Jase . . ." was all Tommy could say. The look on his face said it all.

"You like, I take it," Jason smiled.

Tommy nodded emphatically. "You gotta let me take some pictures," he said while moving over to him and rubbing his leather-clad hips.

"Pictures? Why do you need pictures?"

"For times when I'm alone—you know, when you're not around."

"Have you been winding your own clock?" Jason grinned.

"Oh, like you don't . . ."

He giggled. "Okay, okay . . . guilty as charged. But if I'm gonna model, so are you. You promised, remember?"

"Yeah, but model what?" Normally, Tommy wouldn't even consider doing something like that, but with Jason . . . he had started to be a little less inhibited—though he was still a long way from being the exhibitionist that his boyfriend was.

"Umm . . . how 'bout those old jeans I like so much?"

"The old, faded-out, ripped ones?"

"Yeah . . . I love those."

Those particular blue jeans were the epitome of ratty, old, worn-out jeans. They were barely even blue anymore, so threadbare that there were big holes with just strings covering a large portion of Tommy's left thigh and right asscheek, the waistband and hems were ragged and stringy, and the material had worn so thin that you could see nearly every muscle in his thighs and butt. He had to wear boxers under them to be decent in public, but they fit like a glove.

"Okay—where should we do this?" Tommy asked.

"How 'bout on the Harley? In the backyard--I don't want my neighbours watching."

Tommy chuckled. "Okay, yeah. That would look rather odd."

On the way out to do their impromptu photo shoot, Tommy pulled Jason into a deep, warm kiss. Once parted, Jason reached up and rubbed Tommy's chin.

"The goatee's growing in nicely, isn't it?" Jason remarked.

"Yeah . . . I just hope it's thick enough by Saturday night." He was thankful to the German side of his heritage that he could even grow facial hair. He knew that most natives couldn't grow a decent beard to save them.

"Don't worry about it—it's dark so it looks thicker than it is. Just as long as you're not clean-shaven--can't have a baby-faced pirate! Besides, I think it's dead sexy . . ."

__________________________

Halloween was upon them very quickly and Tommy and Jason met up at the Scotts' house to get ready. They needed to be at the Youth Center by 3:00 in order to help out with the children. Both had managed to find everything they needed for their costumes and now they just had to put it all together.

About 2:30 they arrived and walked into the highly-decorated and busy Youth Center. Several heads turned and a few very appreciative whistles were heard. They both looked hot enough to start fires.

Giving each other a quick grin and a wink, they made their way over to where Tanya and Kat were helping with one of the kids' games.

"Well, well . . . don't you both look delicious . . ." Tanya said and walked up and gave them both hugs.

"You look pretty fabulous yourself there, Scary Spice. What a perfect costume for you," Tommy remarked.

Jason agreed.

"Why thank you. Looking forward to Rocky's party later on?"

"Oh yeah—should be fun," Jason said.

Kat finished with the child she was helping and came over. "Great costumes, guys! They suit you really well."

"So does yours, Princess," Tommy quipped with a grin.

She was indeed dressed like a fairytale princess—elaborate dress, in pink of course, and a tiara.

"Have you seen Rocky or Adam yet? I can't wait to see how their costumes turned out," Jason asked.

"No, not yet. Hey, stand back and let me look at you two," Tanya said, giving them the once-over and pulling out her camera. "Where'd you find all that stuff, Tommy?"

"Oh, a little here, a little there. Took a while to put all this on, I tell ya!"

"Is that braided into your hair?" Katherine asked, looking closely at the trinkets, pieces of shredded ribbon, and other various stuff hanging out from under his hat.

"Some of it is, some hangs off this headscarf," he explained, removing his hat and showing the weathered, leather headscarf he had tied on.

"Jason, do you have fangs?" Tanya suddenly asked when he smiled at her.

"What self-respecting vampire doesn't?"

"Nice." They were completely moulded to his teeth so they looked absolutely natural. He could even talk without sounding like he had a mouthful of something.

He bared his teeth and hissed at the girls which drew a big laugh.

"Hey, no biting. We agreed," Tommy interjected.

"I know one more thing you need, Tommy," Tanya said, starting to dig in her purse.

"What's that?" Tommy asked, curious and amused.

She finally came up with the item she was looking for. "Eyeliner," she said, holding the black pencil out in front of her.

"Eyeliner? You want me to wear makeup?"

"Oh come on—it's part of the costume—it goes with the look," Jason said. "Sorry I didn't think of it."

"You could use some too," Kat said.

"Ya think?" Jason asked.

"Definitely."

Tanya pulled them both over to a table and carefully lined Jason's dark eyes—just enough to emphasize the shape and the deep, rich colour. On Tommy however, she applied the liner liberally and made it a bit messier. His already large, expressive eyes and long, dark lashes really stood out now.

"Wow Tommy—I never realized how beautiful your eyes are!" Tanya commented sincerely.

He blushed slightly. "Umm . . . thanks Tanya."

"And I gotta say, I like the facial hair!" she added.

"Me too," Jason said, reaching over and playing with his boyfriend's chin.

Just as Tanya, Jason, and Kat were giving Tommy's new goatee a rub, Adam and Rocky walked in talking to another guy from school.

"Awww, doesn't Adam look cute!" the girls squealed.

"And Rocky looks rather handsome," Kat remarked.

Aladdin and the gladiator walked over to join their friends, along with the young man they had come in with.

"Hey guys! Nice costumes!" Rocky said.

"Hey Rocko! You guys look good too. Who's your friend, the matador?" Tanya asked.

"Oh, sorry. Guys, this is Carlos. Carlos, this is Tanya, Katherine, Count Jason, and the rockstar pirate on the end is Tommy."

Carlos grinned. "Nice to meet you all. I've seen you guys around school, just never had a chance to talk."

"He-he's on the soccer team with me," Adam offered, sounding a little nervous.

Jason and Tommy grinned at each other. They knew why the green Zeo ranger was anxious and they thought it was cute.

"So, what's the plan?" Rocky asked.

"Help the kids, haunted house, party at your place," Jason ticked off on his fingers. "Girls, are you going to the haunted house with us?"

"Uh no . . . I think not," Katherine said quickly.

"Awww why not, princess? Scared?" Tommy asked teasingly.

"No . . . I just . . . don't wanna go, that's all."

Tommy, Jason, and Rocky looked at each other and nodded. "Scared," they said in unison.

___________________________

The children were having lots of fun at the Center with the older kids helping out. Several of them were karate students of Tommy's and Jason's and they thought it was fun to see their coaches dressed up and playing games with them.

The boys were manning the Beanbag Toss—helping the kids throw the little bags through cut-outs of jack-o-lanterns and ghosts to land in buckets for points.

Tanya and Katherine were helping with the food tables and setting up for the costume contest while Rocky, Adam, and Carlos helped out at the Bobbing for Apples booth.

Tommy and Jason had gotten so into their little game that they were competing against each other with the kids cheering them on. Tanya, Kat, and Emily watched and giggled. Soon after, Jason's competitive streak got the better of him and he decided he needed to remove his coat so that he could throw better.

"Good god!" Emily exclaimed when she got her first good look at his lower half in those leather pants.

"Would you look at that ass?!" Tanya whispered appreciatively.

"Mmm-hmmm . . . and not just his ass . . ." Emily added, nearly drooling.

Kat nodded. "Yeah, he's definitely got a nice package. Too bad . . ." she trailed off when she realized that Emily was listening. Too late.

"What's too bad?" Emily asked. "Has he started dating someone?"

Tanya shot a look at Katherine. That 'don't you dare tell her—that's not your place' look.

"Umm . . . yeah . . ." she started and stopped when she saw Tanya giving her the eye.

"I, uh, think he's still hung up on some girl he met in Switzerland," she lied.

"Oh . . . well . . . maybe I can make him forget about her," Emily said, smiling.

"Yeah. Maybe," Tanya quickly said and shot a 'good freakin' luck' look at Katherine. They both knew Emily didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell—just like Kat didn't with Tommy.

As they walked past the boys, Tanya couldn't resist giving Jason the business. "Nice rearview, Jase. Should you be wearing those pants in front of the children?"

Before Jason could reply, Tommy laughed and said in a low voice, "Yeah, you're gonna scare the kids and make all the big girls' mouths water!"

"Just the girls?" he asked Tommy quietly with a wink.

Tommy covertly licked his lips and said, "No . . . not just the girls."

Then Jason said a little louder, "And you should talk—look at you with your chest all hanging out of that lace-up shirt."

Tommy grinned. "You like it . . ."

______________________________

As the kids were gearing up for the costume contest, Rocky and Jason got into a playfully heated discussion about the kids running around in the red ranger costumes.

"That's supposed to be me," Jason asserted.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I'm the original, that's why."

"So? I was the last one to wear that particular uniform. That's who they remember."

"Bullshit! See those muscles? That's me . . ."

"You're so full of shit. I fill out the uniform quite nicely, thank you."

"I'm full of it? You're the one that's full of it, _replacement_!"

Just as they were getting up in each other's faces, trying to keep from laughing as they argued, Captain Thomas Blackbeard came over with another little red ranger—Zeo Ranger 5.

"Tell these fools who the best red ranger is," he prompted the 10-year-old and then grinned at his friends.

"The red Zeo ranger!! He's awesome!!"

Jason would have none of it. "And just why is the Zeo red ranger better than this red ranger?" he asked, pointing to the little boy standing near him.

The junior ranger at Tommy's side responded quickly. "Oh he was cool, but he's old news. Zeo Ranger 5 is the commander now and he's the best!" The little guy ran off to rejoin his friends across the room.

Tommy stood there with his hands on his hips looking superior. He gave them a huge, self-satisfied grin. "See? Who's the boss _now_?!" He laughed and stuck his tongue out at them and walked off.

"That guy's too smug for his own good," Jason said.

"Yeah, I think he needs taking down a peg or two. Whatcha think?" Rocky responded.

"Absolutely."

_____________________________

At the conclusion of the contest, all of the high school kids were assigned a small group of young ones to take trick or treating. The usual suspects grouped together and scoured the nearby neighbourhoods, raking in lots of candy. Everyone had a great time and all the kids stayed safe.

Once the parents had picked up their little monsters . . . and ninjas, princesses, ghosts, pirates, skeletons, soldiers, fairies, wizards, etc., etc., etc. . . . and even a few non-red power rangers—the gang went out for pizza while waiting for nightfall.

"So Carlos, you play soccer with Adam, huh?" Tanya asked when they all sat down to eat.

"Yeah. He's pretty good. Do you guys ever come to the games?" the young Hispanic man asked.

"When we can make it, yeah. Tommy and I teach karate at the Youth Center, so we're pretty busy," Jason answered.

"Actually, _he_ teaches and I help," Tommy clarified. "I had to turn over my class to him when I got hurt a while back."

Carlos gave him a concerned look. "Adam told me about that. Are you okay now? You seem to have healed well."

"I'm okay now—it took a while, though," Tommy answered.

Adam gave him a hard-to-describe look. Tommy thought that maybe it was a twinge of misplaced guilt that he was still feeling. He had told the green ranger many times that he wasn't responsible, but for some reason, Adam couldn't completely get over it.

"Adam was hurt in that attack too, ya know. Did he tell you that?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah. I'm really glad both of you are okay now," Carlos replied.

They all continued to talk and get to know the newcomer to their group while they ate. When Adam and Tommy ended up in the bathroom at the same time, the red ranger remembered to ask him an important question.

"Have you told Carlos about me and Jase?" He seemed like a nice guy, but Tommy wondered who could be trusted with that knowledge. He and Jason weren't ready for it to get out at school.

"No. I thought I'd wait and see how things went. I just told him that my friends wouldn't care if he and I were together."

"Oh, okay. That's cool."

"Of course, if I know you and Jase, it won't remain a secret for long. You two can't keep your hands off each other for more than 5 minutes!"

Tommy grinned. It was true. "I know—we can't seem to help ourselves."

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"It's none of my business, but . . . has anything happened between you two lately? You seem . . . I don't know . . . even more into each other than usual lately."

Tommy smiled widely. "Umm . . . let's just say our date went really well. _Really_ well."

Adam's eyes got wide. "Did you . . .?"

"No, not yet. But we're getting closer," he said, licking his lips to give Adam a hint.

"Oh . . . OH! Okay . . ." he said as the light dawned. "How was it?" he grinned.

"Incredible . . ." Tommy said softly with a far away look on his face.

_______________________

Having had at least some of their wits scared out of them at the haunted house, the guys met up with the girls at Rocky's house to get on with the party. Choosing to forgo the 'waste of time' that they deemed the haunted house to be, Kat and Tanya went to the DeSantos home early to help Rocky's mom get ready for the party. She was glad to have the help.

Rocky's five younger brothers and sisters were going to friends' houses for the night, but weren't gone yet. The four younger ones were on a sugar high caused by all the Halloween candy floating around and they were running through the house like wild animals. Rocky's teenage sister, Selena, wanted to stay for the party, but her older brother had given her an adamant 'No'.

"You're 15 and a freshman—my friends are too old for you to hang out with. And you're not gonna stay and drool over Adam, Jason, and Tommy all night. You'll embarrass me!" he'd told her.

She did have a major crush on Adam and had for some time. Plus, Rocky's other friends like Tommy and now this new guy Jason . . . it was like a smorgasbord. Even though she couldn't stay, she fixed it so that her ride would be late picking her up. That would at least give her a few minutes to gawk and drool.

As Rocky entered with the vampire, pirate, matador, and a prince named Aladdin, Selena's face nearly fell off. One, two, three, four of the hottest guys at school—seniors at that—had just sauntered into her house looking _very_ sexy.

"Umm . . . hi Adam. I like your costume . . . where's Jasmine?" Selena giggled.

Adam knew she liked him—he thought it was cute. He looked at her and smiled sweetly. "Hey girl, I like your outfit too. You make a very nice geisha. But sorry . . . no Jasmine," he pouted. "You know what? With your long, dark hair you'd be perfect. Wanna be my Jasmine?"

Selena blushed and grinned. "Sure. You should've asked me a week ago, though!"

Rocky leaned over to Adam. "Don't encourage her. You know she has a crush on you."

Adam gave him a funny look. "What? I'm not good enough for your sister?!"

Rocky rolled his eyes. "She's too young for you. Besides, I don't think El Toro over there would appreciate it."

Adam giggled. "Okay, okay . . . but she's not too young. I'm only two years older . . . and I do like girls too, ya know," he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Ah! Not listening! Not listening!" Rocky said and walked quickly into the kitchen.

Selena, meanwhile, had wandered into the living room having sensed that her brother didn't want her listening to his and Adam's conversation.

'_He's such a bully sometimes,'_ she thought.

She walked up to where Tommy and Jason were standing, discussing something.

"Why is my brother such an ass?"

"Just comes natural, I guess," Jason quipped with a grin.

"Oh, he's not that much of an ass—usually. He's just your big brother—it's in his job description," Tommy said.

"Why? What's he doin'?" the gold ranger asked. He put his arm around her shoulders and smiled broadly at her. "Want us to lay him out?"

She looked up into his handsome face. _'Wow. What a gorgeous smile.'_

"Would you? He needs taking down a notch and you two look like just the ones who could do it."

"Oh, we could do it alright. I'd just hate to embarrass him in his own house," Tommy kidded.

"Do either of you have obnoxious older brothers?"

"Nope—only child," Jason answered.

"Well, I have an older brother, but I don't think he's obnoxious. 'Course, I haven't known him long. If we'd grown up together, I'm sure I'd think so," Tommy laughed.

She looked up at the red ranger with starry eyes. "Does he look like you?"

"Yeah, I guess he does. I wonder if I still have that picture . . ." Tommy pulled out his wallet and found the snapshot he was thinking of—the one of him and David at the rez. "There—you think he looks like me?"

"Hmmm yeah, he does. You're both cute," Selena said shyly.

Jason grinned and nodded.

"So, what exactly is Rocko doin' that's got you upset?"

"He refuses to let me stay for the party. Says I'm too young and you guys wouldn't want me around," she answered.

"Oh that's crap. We wouldn't mind a bit. Would we, Tommy?"

The red ranger smiled at her. " 'Course not."

"Well tell the blockhead that."

"Hey Rocky! Come 'ere!" Jason yelled.

The blue Zeo ranger appeared in the doorway leading into the kitchen, munching on something. There stood Selena with her arms around Jason on one side and Tommy on the other, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Let 'er stay, Rocko. Quit bein' an ass," Tommy said, grinning.

Rocky shook his head. "Uh uh. She's supposed to be going to her friend's house and she knows that." He then addressed his kid sister. "Tryin' to get in good with my friends and turn 'em against me, huh?"

"Nope—just hangin'out and talkin' to a vampire and a pirate."

"Well you know Mom said you had to go—it wasn't just me," Rocky reasoned.

Her ride finally showed up and she left, pouting slightly as she turned to go.

"Bye Selena. Sorry you have to go," Adam said and gave her a hug. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay. You guys have fun."

_____________________________

Back in the kitchen, Katherine and Tanya were helping Rocky get the food together.

"Rocky, why couldn't Selena stay? She's very sweet," Kat asked.

"Would you want your kid sister hanging around, drooling over your friends?"

"Well, I don't have a little sister, but I guess I see what you mean."

"Besides, you know Jason and Tommy can't keep their hands off of each other and now there's Adam and Carlos—I don't want to have to explain that to my sister."

"So Carlos is here with Adam—as a date? We thought so, but . . . okay. That explains things," Tanya said.

"Does that bother you guys?"

"Well . . . we expected it sooner or later. I just hope the four of them can control themselves. I don't wanna watch them make out."

"I doubt they'd do that, Kat."

She gave him an 'I'm not so sure' look.

"Picture time! Everybody into the living room!" Jason called out. He had promised Jacques some pictures and he wasn't about to let the evening go by without getting them. "Come on . . . my friends in Switzerland want to see you guys!"

Everyone gathered in the middle of the living room and Mrs. DeSantos took several pictures of the whole group. Then they took individual pictures and ones of Tommy and Jason, Adam and Carlos, Tanya and Katherine, Rocky and the girls, Rocky and Adam, etc., etc.

Everyone enjoyed hamming it up for the camera. Adam took the camera and told Count Jason to 'act like a bloodsucker' and bite Tommy's neck. They giggled and got into position.

"Tommy . . . you're not supposed to be enjoying it! Quit grinning and act scared!" Adam instructed.

Jason went on to bite several other necks, despite his promise to Tommy. There was a hilarious picture of him carrying Scary Spice off bridal style with his fangs in her neck. Capt. Thomas held Aladdin and the matador up at knifepoint, stealing all their worldly goods. He also had a sword battle with the gladiator. Princess Katherine found herself on a barstool with all four guys on one knee in front of her—all trying to win her royal favour. They were quite the motley-looking crew.

When all the posing and clowning was over with, they got back to the business of getting the food together. Jason and Tommy went to help with the grill, while the others worked in the kitchen. It was then that Carlos pulled Adam aside.

"Adam, are you sure your friends are okay with us being together? I'm not so sure they like me."

"They do like you—they just don't know you all that well yet. Give 'em time, okay?" He placed a reassuring hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Well, I have to say that Tommy and Jason seem okay with me—they're a lot of fun. Rocky is a little standoffish, though."

"You think so? I hadn't noticed him being like that."

"He just doesn't seem to want to talk to me, that's all."

"Like I said, he just doesn't know you. Give him a chance, okay?" He paused. "What about the girls?"

"They seem okay. Maybe you're right—maybe I'm being too sensitive. I'm just not used to this."

"You mean dating a guy?"

"Yeah."

"Me either. You're the first guy I've been out with, remember? Just relax—they're fine with us being together, I promise."

Adam actually wasn't sure how Kat and Tanya felt—or if they even knew that this was a date for him and Carlos. He knew Jason and Tommy were fine with it, but Rocky . . . Even though his best friend said it was fine if he brought him, he still wasn't sure how he felt about it.

'_Guess I'll just have to wait and see how he acts.'_

He really hoped no one would cause a fuss or embarrass him and/or Carlos. He was pretty sure that if anything got started, Jason and Tommy would help diffuse the situation—he just didn't want to deal with that. His new boyfriend was nervous and insecure enough as it was.

Shortly afterward, the red and gold rangers came in from the backyard carrying trays full of hamburgers and hot dogs.

"Mmmm, boy that smells good," Adam said as they walked past him and Carlos and into the kitchen.

"Better come on and eat before Rocky gets it all," Tommy joked.

"Come on Carlos—don't be shy," Jason said with a smile.

Everyone ended up in the kitchen, either sitting or standing around the island, stuffing their faces. It was then that the topic of the birthday party came up.

"Everybody's coming to our party next weekend, right?" Tommy asked.

"Sure."

"Oh yeah."

"Wouldn't miss it," came the responses.

Carlos looked a bit left out.

"Tommy's birthday is the 3rd and mine is the 7th, so we're having a joint birthday party next weekend," Jason explained.

"You're invited too, of course," Tommy said to the newcomer. "Think you can make it?"

"Sure. Where's it gonna be?"

"Well, we were gonna have it at my house, but then Mom decided that she didn't want the football team, our teenage karate class, all these guys . . ." gesturing to the assembled company, ". . . and a quarter of the school trampling all over her house, so . . ." Jason started.

"So we're having it at the Youth Center," Tommy finished, smiling.

"Sounds like a lot of fun—I'd love to come. Thanks for the invite," Carlos said.

Jason suddenly thought of something. "Rocky, if we invited Selena and a friend to the party, would you have a fit?"

"Yeah, good idea. Whatcha think, Rocko?" Tommy asked.

The blue ranger sighed. "I guess it'd be okay, but you'll have to ask Mom. She may not want my kid sister at a party with a bunch of seniors."

"Understood, but there won't be any drinking or anything. And she'll have her big brother there to watch out for her. Four or five big brothers, actually," Tommy interjected, indicating the guys sitting around the kitchen.

"Well, as long as you don't mind her and her best friend Melanie drooling over you guys all night. You know how girls her age are," Rocky added.

"Not just girls her age, blueboy," Tanya said and reached up to the guys closest to her, Carlos and Jason, and planted kisses on their cheeks.

Jason laughed and kissed her back while Carlos grinned and blushed.

Once the last of the food was finished off, everyone made their way back to the living room to relax and have some fun.

"Okay, horror movies now or later?" Rocky asked.

"Later. Let's play some games right now," Tanya requested.

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know . . . Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle . . . hey, how about Twister?"

"Twister on a full stomach? Not a good idea . . ." Adam said.

"True. How 'bout Spin the Bottle? That's usually good for a few laughs," Tommy added.

Taking that suggestion, they moved the furniture back and sat around in the floor. All except Kat—she couldn't quite manage it in that dress."

"Who goes first?"

"Rocky—it's his house."

Rocky took the bottle and gave it a good spin. Since they had decided to play a Spin the Bottle/Truth or Dare hybrid, whoever it landed on had the choice to either follow Rocky's instructions—the dare—or answer an inevitably personal and embarrassing question—the truth.

After several rounds with a lot of bad singing, bad dancing, and some uncomfortable kisses—namely Kat and Tanya, Tommy and Kat, and Jason and Carlos—the turn came to Jason. He had just survived having to stand and sing in front of the group so he was ready for some revenge. Rocky really hoped it wasn't going to include him—Jason loved to pick on the blue ranger—good naturedly, of course.

Jason spun the bottle and it eventually pointed to Tommy.

'_Hmmm . . . this could get interesting,'_ Jason thought. He grinned and winked at Tommy.

"Would you like truth or dare?"

"Dare," Tommy said, going along with Jason.

"Okay Tommy—I want you to go over and take Rocky in your arms and kiss him—hard," Jason said with an evil grin.

"What?" Rocky said, suddenly alarmed.

"Jase . . . are you serious?" Tommy asked. He wasn't sure this was a good idea.

"Come on, Jase. Pick something else," Rocky pleaded.

"No—what I say goes. Kiss him," he said, pointing Tommy toward Rocky. He winked at Tommy again.

The red ranger knew what he was up to, but still didn't know exactly how the somewhat homophobic Rocky would react.

"Fine," he finally said. It was just a stupid game, right?

He stood and stepped over Jason and Tanya to get to Rocky who was getting to his feet.

"Do I have to do this?" Rocky pleaded.

"Am I that revolting, Rocko? I promise I'm clean," Tommy joked, trying to make the blue ranger smile.

"Yes, you have to. I had to sing, Adam had to dance—you have to pucker up," Jason answered. Everyone but Rocky laughed. "And you have to stand in the middle of the circle," he added.

The two made their way to the center and Tommy reached up and touched Rocky's arms. They both sighed heavily—neither wanted to do this.

"Take him in your arms, T.," Jason directed, grinning.

Tommy slipped his arms around Rocky's waist and started to bend over towards his face. Rocky jerked his face to the side.

"Come on, Rocky—be a sport," Adam said.

"He's a great kisser—I promise," Jason said.

Carlos' head snapped over to Jason and then he looked at Adam, wanting to ask him, but Adam was too enthralled with watching his best friend squirm in Tommy's arms.

'_Tommy and Jason? No way,'_ Carlos thought.

The girls giggled at Rocky's predicament. They knew what Jason was doing but didn't say anything. It was all in fun.

"Get on with it!" Adam yelled.

Tommy tried again. "Be still, darlin'—I won't bite . . . hard." He leaned in again and grasped Rocky's head, holding it still with one large hand.

"That's it—make him submit!" Jason yelled.

"Close your eyes guys—it'll be easier!" Carlos added.

Rocky felt Tommy's lips touch his very gently and just stop there. His goatee tickled . . . and his lips were softer than he thought they'd be.

'_Okay . . . it'll be over in a second,'_ he thought.

"I said kiss him hard, didn't I?" Jason demanded.

Rocky felt Tommy's lips curl into a small grin. Obediently, he pressed his mouth harder against Rocky's. The blue ranger tried to remain as unresponsive as possible, but he felt himself starting to relax.

'_No!'_ he screamed in his head.

Finally, after what seemed like 10 minutes to Rocky but was more like 5 seconds, Tommy pulled back and let go of him.

"Satisfied?" Rocky said testily to Jason as he went to sit back down.

"Now was that so disgusting?" Jason asked.

"Look, Tommy's my good friend but I don't wanna make a habit out of kissing him, okay?

If Rocky had been honest, he would've said that it really wasn't that bad—he just didn't like being the submissive.

"If it makes you feel any better, you're not my type either—too stiff," Tommy kidded.

"Let's play something else," Kat suggested.

"Why don't we watch a movie and _then_ play something else," Tanya offered.

They moved the furniture back and got ready to watch "Friday the 13th". Adam and Carlos took advantage of the dark room and the fact that no one was watching and they snuggled up together on the couch, hands intertwined. Eventually, they ventured a small, quick kiss and afterwards saw Jason smiling at them.

Carlos stiffened up a bit, but Adam rubbed his leg saying, "I told you—it's okay."

He relaxed a little, seeing that Jason wasn't saying or doing anything about it. They eventually got cozy again and shared a few more kisses.

At the end of the movie, Adam and Carlos got up and went to the kitchen to refill their drinks. Jason and Tommy had the same idea. The green Zeo ranger felt it was time to bring things out in the open.

"Tommy, Jason—please tell him that you guys don't mind if we're together. He doesn't seem to want to believe me."

Tommy clasped Jason's hand in his and raised them up for Carlos to see. "Would be kinda hypocritical of us if we did, wouldn't it?" he smiled. He had decided to trust Carlos—he hoped he wouldn't regret it.

"So you two _are_ together. I wondered when you made that comment about him being a good kisser," the matador responded, looking at Jason.

"Yeah, kinda gave it away there, didn't I?"

"Sort of. I would never have picked you two to be a couple. How long have you been together?"

"A couple of months. Please don't tell anyone at school, okay? We're not quite ready for that," Tommy said.

"Oh, I won't. I promise," Carlos responded—he had his own secret to keep.

The two couples made their way back into the living room and sat on the big couch together—Carlos snuggling into Adam slightly on one end and Tommy cozying up to Jason on the other just as the next movie was starting.

Adam and his new boyfriend finally felt comfortable enough to really act like a couple and they slowly began to kiss and caress each other. The other couple wasted no time either. Rocky, Kat, and Tanya sat and watched the movie with their backs to the couch, trying to ignore the quiet noises coming from that direction.

Carlos glanced over to the other end of the couch and was momentarily mesmerized by what he saw. Tommy was nearly in Jason's lap, their arms looped loosely around each other—they were kissing slowly and gently and nibbling each other's necks. They were in a world of their own.

Carlos looked back at Adam and nudged him to draw his attention to their two friends. Adam looked over and grinned.

"Told ya we were okay."

They snuggled down together and continued to enjoy their first date. It would be the first of many.

_______________________

_Author's Notes: Thank you so much for all the nice reviews of the last chapter! Glad you enjoyed the fluff!_

_Hope you liked this chapter too—I wrote and rewrote until I was somewhat satisfied. Please let me know what you think!_

_And yeah . . . Tommy's costume is very reminiscent of Capt. Jack Sparrow. I can't help it—one of my dreams is to see Johnny Depp and Jason David Frank in a movie together! Hottness Personified!_


	26. Birthdays and Double Dates

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Still Rated 'M' for a reason! If you're underage or not comfortable with male/male relationships, hit that 'Back' button now!

First part is in Tommy's POV—you'll figure out where it changes. This chapter is not as fluffy as the last two, but I think you'll enjoy it anyway.

I am now offering my services as a beta—please check out my beta reader profile if you're interested.

**Chapter 26—Birthdays and Double Dates**

Jason is leaning against the doorframe in my bedroom with his arms casually crossed on his chest. He's wearing only those leather pants and a very naughty look on his face. God, he's hot!

"You ready for me?" he asks in a low, sultry voice.

"Always," I answer.

He walks slowly across the room, pulling at the laces on the waistband and begins to loosen the laced-up fly.

"Wanna help me?" he whispers and stands in front of me with his hands on his hips.

"Oh yeah . . ." I say breathily and reach up from my place on the edge of the bed to take hold of those leathers. "I'll work these things off you and then I'll work you into a sweat." I will too.

When I finally manage to peel those pants from his body and he has relieved me of my jeans, we stand there for a minute, each getting a good feel.

'Wow, that ass is tight,' I think as I give it a good squeeze with both hands. My whole body tingles as he runs his warm hands up and down my bare back.

Our mouths are sealed together as our tongues dance around each other—man, I love kissing him. I don't think I ever want to kiss anyone else. No one lights me up like he does.

"Mmmm bro . . . you feel so good," he whispers in my ear when the kiss ends, his hot breath tickling my ear and sending shivers down my spine. As he starts nipping and kissing my neck, hitting that one spot that drives me nuts, I feel my already hard cock twitch against his warm body.

"Ahhhh . . . so do you. Let's get in bed," I suggest. You're in for it tonight, boy.

Lying down in each other's arms, I kiss him soundly and run my hands up and down that hard, muscular body once more before reaching for the lube in the nightstand drawer. No long, drawn-out foreplay tonight—I can't wait any longer.

Coating myself thoroughly, I then move my hand to my gorgeous boyfriend's body and begin to prepare him—not his cock—I head lower . . .

"Tommy . . . ahhhh . . . ohhh . . . yessss," he hisses and moans loudly.

I lean in from my position above him and capture his panting mouth with my own. Once I let him free, he gasps, "Harder Tommy, please . . . harder."

Your wish is my command—I do as he asks. God, he's tight. I reach under and adjust his position and sink even lower into his heat.

"I'm gonna wear you out," I tell him while establishing a good, hard rhythm.

"What's that noise?" he asks suddenly, nearly out of breath.

I hear it too . . .

_______________________

"_Beep . . . beep . . . beep."_

Tommy slowly opened his eyes and then slapped the top of the alarm clock.

"Shut up, damn it . . ." he groaned. "Mmm . . . it can't be morning already."

The clock's bright neon green numbers loudly proclaimed '6:00'. Tommy rolled back over and groaned.

"Just a dream . . . damn. Now I need a cold shower."

He moved slowly into the bathroom and started the water, leaning against the sink until the shower was ready to get into. He stared into the mirror.

"Happy Birthday to me . . ." he said almost sadly. He wondered if anyone in his house would even remember.

'_Why would they? They don't care about me. I might as well not exist to them.'_

Before he let himself get too down though, he thought of some people who _would_ remember and would help him celebrate his birthday—Jason, his parents, and all their friends.

'_18 . . . wow.'_ He'd finally made it to legal adulthood. Not too many years ago he'd wondered if he'd live to see it. He almost didn't—by his own hand.

He showered quickly, washed his hair, and then got dressed. Jason would be there to pick him up soon and he didn't want to make him wait. Back in the bathroom, he dried his hair and messed with his goatee. He was still trying to decide whether to keep it or shave it off. It had grown in pretty well and it did make him look older—not quite so baby-faced. The girls at school liked it, but more importantly, so did Jason.

When he was finished primping, he went back to his room to get his backpack and shoes and stopped dead in his tracks. Sitting on his bed was a big, beautifully wrapped package with a card.

"Where'd that come from?"

He walked over and looked at the card—it was in his mom's handwriting.

"Well, I'll be damned," he muttered as he looked at the card. Five twenties fell out when he opened it. Inside, she had written,

_Tommy,_

_Happy 18__th__ Birthday!!_

_Hope you like your gift!_

_Love,_

_Mom and Dad_

He put the card down and sat on the bed next to the box. It was a good-sized package. He lifted it and noted how heavy it was. Finally, curiosity got the best of him and he ripped into the paper revealing a big, red gift box. Lifting off the top, he gasped when he saw the very leather jacket he and Jason had been drooling over at that shop downtown two days ago.

"Oh my god . . . I don't believe this . . ."

He stood and pulled on the jacket—it fit like a glove. He quickly looked in the mirror—it did look good on him, even he had to admit that. A huge grin covered his face.

"Now I gotta change clothes."

He practically dove into his closet and pulled out his black jeans and another shirt.

'_Can't wear a jacket like that with just anything.'_

He pulled the ponytail holder out of his hair to let his mane flow freely and he put his hoop earrings in. Just as he was admiring himself in the mirror, he realized what time it was. Jason would be there any minute. Bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen, he nearly ran his mom down.

"Oops, sorry," he said and then hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much, Mom! This jacket rocks!"

She smiled. "Glad you like it. I . . ." she started but was cut off by the sound of a car horn. "There's Jason—better get it in gear."

"Yeah. I gotta grab something for breakfast, though."

He ran into the kitchen and emerged seconds later with a granola bar and a bottle of juice.

"See ya later!"

"Happy Birthday!" she called after him.

Hurrying out the door with breakfast in hand, he quickly made his way toward Jason's Mustang.

"Mmmmm! Hey Birthday Boy! Don't you look edible this morning! Like the jacket!" he smiled.

"Hey bro! Yeah . . . nice, ain't it?"

"Someone has good taste."

"I'd say so . . ." he grinned at Jason. He knew his bro had to have told his mom about the jacket. There's no way she could have known about it otherwise.

"So how'd this come about?" he asked, indicating his expensive new leather coat.

"Well, I'll tell ya—it surprised the hell outta me. Sunday night after I got home, your mom called and wanted to talk to me. I was like 'what the hell does _she_ want?', but I answered it anyway. She told me that she and your dad wanted to get you something really special for your birthday, but they weren't sure what you'd like. We had just been at that store downtown and I remembered that jacket you loved so much. I thought that would be better to tell her than those leather pants that I loved on you so much, so . . . there ya go!"

"I figured it was something like that. Thanks, bro. Besides, I'll get more wear out of this jacket than I would those pants anyway," Tommy smiled.

"Maybe, but damn . . . I still want you to have those pants. You're just too much wrapped in leather . . ." Jason grinned wickedly.

"We'll see . . ." he paused. "Let me ask you somethin'."

"Anything. What's up?"

"Do you have . . . ummm . . . dreams about me?" he looked up at Jason sheepishly.

"Whoa—subject change!" He grinned. "You know I do. I've told you that."

"Hot . . . erotic dreams? About us doin' stuff together?"

"Stuff? You mean like us having sex? Definitely. I've been having those kinds of dreams about you for a _long_ time. Before we got together they used to make me crazy. Now I just see them as a preview of coming attractions, so to speak," he said with a wink and a smile. "Why?"

"Because I've been having them a lot lately too, and last night's was . . . well . . . extremely hot. What I can remember of it, anyway."

"Good. The hotter the better. Inspire you to try anything new?"

"I'll say, but that would be moving kinda fast."

"Nah . . . we're making up for lost time, right? Personally, I don't think anything we could do would be too much too fast. I've waited a long time for you."

"Are you sure you're ready? Seriously?"

"Yes. Are you?" Jason asked sincerely.

"You know, I think I am. I'm sure I'd have a bad case of the nerves, but . . . yeah, I'm ready."

Jason's broad smile made Tommy smile too. "Then let's make some plans."

Jason had driven around behind the strip mall near the school—their occasional early morning make-out spot.

"But first," he said, putting the car in park, "I want to give you a proper birthday kiss."

___________________

"So Tommy, what're your plans for your birthday? Doing anything exciting?" Kat asked at lunch while they all gathered around their usual table.

"Jason and I are going out to dinner and then to a movie. Should be fun."

"Where are you going to eat? I hear that new Italian restaurant is really good," Tanya offered.

Tommy shrugged. "I don't know—he won't tell me," he said, turning and smiling up at Jason who had just walked up with both of their lunches.

"Won't tell you what?" he asked as he sat down.

"Where we're going for dinner."

"Oh. That's 'cause it's a surprise," Jason said and grinned. He wasn't going to give it away.

"Tommy, is David coming to the party?" Kat asked. "We haven't seen him in a while."

"He's been really busy at work but yeah, he's coming . . . _and_ he's bringing a girlfriend. Apparently they just started dating—he seems pretty happy about it."

"Cool. It'll be nice to see him again," Adam added.

"Yeah. I wish he lived closer—I'd love to see David _and_ Sam more often," Tommy said.

"Bro, you know I'll drive you out there anytime you want," Jason told him.

"I know. I just hate to be so much trouble. Besides, I'll be able to drive again soon."

_______________________

On the way to the Youth Center after school, Jason reopened the topic they had started that morning.

"So . . . you wanna make some plans?"

"Plans for what?" Tommy asked, looking clueless.

"What we were talking about this morning, birthday boy . . . us getting together . . . you remember."

"Oh . . . yeah. Sure," he said and stopped.

Jason was afraid he had thought better of it. "Changed your mind, bro? We don't have to if you think it'd be rushing things."

"No, it's not that. I was just wondering where we could go. Wouldn't do to get caught by our parents."

"No kiddin'." Jason stopped and thought. "How 'bout our quarters at the Power Chamber? No one would bother us there."

Tommy's face lit up. "Yeah—that'd work. But what do we tell the folks about where we're goin'?"

"Oh, we'll make up somethin' about stayin' at somebody's house—maybe Billy's."

"So when do you think would be a good time? This weekend?" Tommy asked.

"How 'bout after our party on Saturday? Celebrate our birthdays right!" Jason grinned.

"Yeah, that way I can't be arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor," he said with a cheeky grin. "Sounds like a good plan." He leaned over and gently kissed Jason's cheek. "Can't wait . . ."

____________________

The birthday boy primped in the bathroom mirror as he waited for his boyfriend to pick him up for their dinner date. He thought over their plans for the weekend—particularly their planned rendezvous for Saturday night.

'_Jason sounded so sure of himself—and he's the virgin. I hope I don't lose my nerve when it comes down to it.'_

"Tommy! Phone!" came the shout from the bottom of the stairs.

"Okay . . . thanks," he replied. He grabbed the cordless in his bedroom.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tommy! Happy Birthday!"

"Kim . . . hi. Thanks," he said, his voice expressing his surprise.

"How're you doing? Feeling better?"

"Yeah—I'm doing much better, thanks. Has Tanya been keeping you up to date?"

"Actually, I talk to Kat more than anyone else. I was really worried when she told me about the seizure you had. Are you sure you're okay?"

"As far as I know. I haven't had any more and things are going pretty well now. The doctors seem to think I'm alright."

"Good. I'm so glad to hear it. So, what do you have planned for your big day?"

"Jase and I are going out to eat and then to a movie."

Kim desperately wanted to ask him about his relationship with Jason, but she didn't know how to bring it up. She still couldn't believe that her ex-boyfriend and her childhood friend were actually dating and only god knew what else, despite what Kat said.

"Ummm . . . I suppose you're really happy that Jase decided to stay in Angel Grove instead of going back to the Peace Conference, huh?"

"Yeah, of course I am. I missed him while he was gone. You know that."

"Are you two as close as you used to be?"

"Closer, actually." _'What is she getting at?'_

After a few minutes of hemming and hawing, she finally gathered her courage and came out with it.

"Tommy, I have to ask you something," she said, her voice betraying her anxiety.

"What's that?"

"Umm . . . okay . . ." She sighed. "Are you and Jase together? Dating, I mean."

Tommy's eyes got big. "What makes you ask that?"

"Well, Kat said that you were, but I didn't know if I could believe her."

"Oh she did, did she?" He was pissed. _'What makes Kat think it's her place to tell Kim about me and Jase?!'_

"Yeah, she did," Kim responded.

"Well . . ." He sighed. "Yeah, we're together—have been since I got out of the hospital."

She gasped quietly. _'Oh my god—it's true.'_

"But Tommy . . . I-I thought you were straight. When we dated . . ."

"I thought I was too, but well . . . I guess not. Jase is very special to me, Kim. You know that."

"As a best friend yes, but . . . as a . . . _boyfriend_? How can you do that? How can you change so completely?"

"What makes you think I've changed so much?"

"You can't be the same person that I dated—not unless I didn't know you like I thought I did. Was everything we had a lie? Were you just using me until something better came along?"

Tommy saw red. He tried to keep his temper in check, though. "How dare you ask me that?! You're the one who told me you thought of me as a brother! Who was using who?!"

She got very quiet. "Tommy . . ."

"Kim, no offense, but I really don't want to discuss this with you. Jase and I are very happy together—so just be happy for us, okay? And speaking of Jase, he's here so I have to go."

"Ummm . . . yeah . . . okay. I'll talk to you later, I guess."

"Yeah, okay."

"Have a good birthday, Tommy. Take care of yourself." She spoke in a low voice, sounding completely crestfallen.

"You too."

He hung up and closed his eyes for a minute. He needed to gather himself before seeing Jason. Tommy wasn't sure who he was more pissed at—Kim for having the audacity to ask him 'were you just using me?' or Kat for taking it upon herself to tell Kim about him and Jason. Either way, he was mad.

"T? Are you decent, birthday boy?" Jason said as he peeked in the bedroom door.

Tommy exhaled forcefully. "Yeah, come on in."

Jason could tell that something was wrong—his boyfriend looked like he could chew nails.

"Hey . . . what's wrong, bro?" He rubbed Tommy's back soothingly.

"Guess who just called?"

"I dunno—who?"

"Kim," he said sternly.

"Oh . . . what'd she want? To wish you a happy birthday?"

"I guess, but that wasn't her whole motive in calling."

"Whatcha mean? What else did she say?"

"She just came out and asked me if you and I are dating."

"Did she now? How would she have gotten that idea?"

"Guess."

"Kat."

"Yep."

Jason frowned. _'I wondered how long that'd take.' _"Where does she get off telling Kim?"

"That's what I'd like to know. And I promise you I'm gonna find out _tomorrow_."

"What did you tell Kim?"

"I told her the truth."

"What did she say?"

"Ummm, let's see . . . 'How can you do that?' . . . 'I thought you were straight' . . . 'You can't be the same person I dated' . . . and my favourite . . . 'were you just using me until something better came along?'"

Jason's face showed his anger. "How dare she ask you that?!"

"That's what I said. She's got some nerve, I tell ya." He sighed heavily.

The gold ranger knew that if he got all upset over this, it would only make things worse for Tommy and he didn't want to agitate him any further. "Okay . . . let's just try to forget about it for now," he said, rubbing the worry lines on Tommy's forehead. "Let's go out and celebrate your birthday and have a good time, okay?"

He pulled Tommy into a warm embrace and just held him for a short while. Finally, the red ranger started to relax a little.

"There we go. Ready to go eat?" Jason asked.

Tommy smiled at him. Once again, his bro knew just what he needed to feel better. "Yeah, let's go. I'm not gonna let them ruin our date."

They kissed briefly and Tommy grabbed his new jacket on the way out the door.

"You look really good, by the way," the gold ranger said.

"Thanks, so do you. Where we goin'?"

"Your favourite restaurant—I hope you're hungry!"

"Starving . . ."

________________________

Jason and Tommy were seated in a semi-circular booth—perfect for getting closer without being too obvious.

"Ready for some serious sushi?" Jason asked, grinning.

"You know it! Whatcha in the mood for?"

"Whatever you want, bro. It's your birthday."

They studied the menu for several minutes, referring to the English translation when needed and then made up their minds. After they had ordered several different rolls and a lot of sashimi, Jason excused himself to the restroom. Actually, he wanted to let the waitress know that it was Tommy's birthday and arrange a little something.

Returning to the table, Jason took a sip of his drink and then reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small square gift box wrapped very nicely in red paper with green and white ribbon. Pushing it across to Tommy, he smiled.

"Happy Birthday, bro. You finally made it to 18!"

Tommy grinned. "Thanks. Nice wrapping, by the way."

Jason laughed. "Yeah, Mom wanted to know why I made it look like a Christmas gift! How many more colors you gonna wear? You'll be known as the Rainbow Ranger before long!"

"Rainbow, eh? I don't think so. I'm on my last color—I'm retiring after this round."

"Well, that might be your intent, but . . . you never know what might happen in the future. Never say never . . ."

Tommy gave him an 'I don't think so' look, but then giggled. "Okay, I might do pink—but only on the weekends to make extra money . . ."

They both fell out laughing. The thought of Tommy in pink spandex was too much.

"Oh god, I'm dating a closet drag queen!" Jason said in mock horror and shook his head. "What else aren't you telling me?"

"Hmmm . . . let's see." Tommy grinned as he thought. "I'm slightly claustrophobic . . ."

"I knew that."

"I'm allergic to scallops."

"Knew that too . . ."

"And . . ." a wicked grin crossed his face. He leaned in really close. "I sometimes fantasize about blindfolding you, tying you up and doing naughty things to you."

Jason's eyes widened. "Really? You wanna tie me up?"

"It's just a fantasy—don't freak."

"Who's freakin'? I just didn't know you had a kinky streak."

Tommy pulled at the ribbon on his gift and smiled. "Yeah well . . . I just don't usually talk about stuff like that. Now . . . can I open my gift?!"

Jason laughed. "Sure. I hope you like it."

Tommy untied the ribbon and pulled the paper from the box to reveal the logo of the same leather shop that his jacket had come from.

A warm smile crossed his face. "What did you do?" He knew that anything that came from that particular shop had to have been expensive.

"Well, it's not the leather pants I want you to have, but . . ."

"Don't think they'd fit in here," Tommy said, shaking the box.

"No, but that g-string would . . . open it already!" Jason was getting impatient.

Tommy's eyes got big. "You didn't . . ."

Jason wouldn't say anything, he just gestured toward the box. Tommy lifted the top off the box to reveal a carved dragon pendant made of what looked like green jade. It hung from a black leather cord.

"Oh cool! It's that necklace that I liked so much at the store!"

"Yep. Something about green dragons reminds me of you," smiled Jason.

"Wonder why . . ."

"Put it on—let's see it."

The red ranger put the cord over his head and pulled his hair free. The beautifully carved dragon gleamed from inside Tommy's open collar.

"How's it look?"

"Nice. Suits you."

Tommy reached under the table and clasped Jason's hand. "Thanks bro—I really like it." He paused and winked. "I'll thank you properly later."

Jason grinned. "I'm looking forward to it. You have to admit though, I had you goin' there for a minute!"

"No kidding--I was afraid to open the box in public!"

"I hear it's someone's birthday," the waitress announced with a warm smile as she brought the large tray of sushi to their table.

Tommy smiled. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Well Happy Birthday, handsome," she said and lowered the platter down onto the table to reveal a lit birthday candle burning brightly from a piece of California Roll. The two rangers giggled at the sight.

"Well, make a wish," Jason prompted.

Tommy thought for a second, smiled, and then blew out the lone candle.

'_I wonder if that one will ever come true,'_ he wondered.

Jason reached over and picked up the candle, lifting the piece of sushi it impaled. He held it over for Tommy who looked to make sure no one was watching and then ate the sushi from the candle, making sure to touch Jason's fingers with his lips. The gold ranger grinned.

"Well, that's one way to do it," he laughed.

Picking up their chopsticks, they immediately went at their gorgeous-looking dinner—hardly saying anything other than "Mmmm", "Wow", and "Have you tried this?"

Once they'd slowed down a little, Jason looked over at his boyfriend and casually asked, "So, any chance of you telling me what you wished for?"

"Nope—won't come true if I tell."

"Sometimes telling the right person can help it come true," Jason said with a warm smile and rubbed Tommy's thigh under the table.

The red ranger looked at him lovingly. "I know . . . but I'd rather not say. Not yet, anyway."

"Fair enough. Enjoying your birthday dinner?"

"Absolutely. By the way, would you be up for a double date with Adam and Carlos sometime soon? Adam asked me about it earlier."

"Yeah—sounds like fun. He seems to really like Carlos, don'tcha think?"

"Mmm-hmm—I'm glad he's found someone. He's too nice a guy to be alone. Wish Rocky could meet somebody . . ."

"Yeah, me too. I really like old Rocko," Jason grinned.

"Like to pick on him, you mean."

"What can I say, he's fun."

After they'd eaten their fill of smoked salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, eel rolls, tempura rolls, etc., etc. they headed over to the big movie theatre in the mall to catch that new movie they'd been wanting to see.

"I can't believe that Gasket's let us have two dates without an interruption," Jason remarked on their way home.

"Awww Jase . . . why'd you have to say that? Now he's sure to screw us somehow."

Jason chuckled. "Yep . . . me and my big mouth."

"I got a better use for your big mouth than using it to talk up trouble."

"Oh really . . . do tell," Jason whispered.

Tommy lifted one of Jason's hands from the steering wheel and placed it on his upper thigh, rubbing upwards.

"Mmmm . . . you up for a little foolin' around?" Jason asked, hoping for an affirmative answer.

"Always. Where should we go?"

"Up to you, birthday boy."

"Well, we have school in the morning, so you can't stay out late—how 'bout your place?"

"That's fine, but what about your parents?"

"They don't give a shit, remember? Just take me by my house so I can get my backpack and some clothes."

"Sure."

After a couple of minutes, Jason just had to say what was on his mind.

"Tommy, you know I'm not a fan of your parents but . . . it seems like they're trying. Look at that expensive jacket they got you."

"Yeah, I know . . . and I appreciate the gift, but . . . it hardly makes up for things, ya know?"

"I know. Let's get your stuff."

__________________________

"So Tommy, did you ask Jason last night about the double date thing?" Adam asked at lunch the next day.

"Hmm? Oh yeah—yeah I did. He said that it sounded like it'd be a lot of fun. When did you want to go?"

"I'll have to ask Carlos when he gets here, but how about Friday?"

"Sounds fine—I'll ask Jase."

"Ask Jase what?" the gold ranger queried when he walked up behind Tommy's chair.

"Ask you if Friday would be okay for the double date with Adam and his soccer star."

Adam and Jason both grinned. "Yeah, that'd be fine. Where is said soccer star anyway?" Jason asked.

"Oh, he'll be along. His class before this is on the other side of the school—art wing."

"Is he an artist?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, he is . . . and a good one too. You should see some of his sketches. He's also a photographer."

"Oh really?"

"That reminds me—I got the pictures back from Halloween. I'll pass them around when everyone gets here," Jason said.

Rocky finally arrived, followed closely by Zack.

"Hey guys, how's it goin'?" the former black ranger asked.

"Good . . . sleepy though," Tommy responded.

"Me too," Jason added.

"So why would you two be so tired today? Did we get up to some mischief last night celebrating someone's birthday?" Zack asked, grinning widely.

"Yep, wore 'im out. Started with his birthday spanking and went on from there," Jason stated, hardly even looking up from his lunch.

That got the usual reaction—Adam and Zack smiling and laughing, Rocky just rolling his eyes. For his part, Tommy just grinned, but made no effort to correct Jason's account of what went on.

After a few minutes though, Tommy did speak up on another subject.

"You know, I just had a thought. We've all dated other members of the team in the past, so this hasn't been an issue. What if we go out on this double date," he turned to Rocky and Zack. ". . . me, Jason, Adam, and Carlos—and there's an attack and we have to go. What do we tell Carlos?"

They all looked at each other. That was a very good question. Unfortunately, no one had a ready answer.

"Damn, I don't know. I'd hate to run off and leave him, but what else am I supposed to do?" Adam asked.

"Hope it doesn't happen and make up a good lie if it does," Zack offered.

"That's a recipe for trouble right there. You know you can't tell him Adam, but you need to think up something just in case. Sooner or later, it's gonna happen," Jason counselled.

"So, you guys are going out on a double date?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah. We're gonna try for Friday," Adam answered.

"Oh . . ." Rocky said in a quiet voice.

"Something wrong?" Adam asked him softly.

"No. Nothing's wrong," Rocky replied, but his tone gave him away. Before Adam could inquire further though, Carlos showed up followed by Kat and Tanya. "Here's Carlos," Rocky added.

Everyone greeted the new arrivals as they pulled up chairs. Tommy and Jason were civil to Kat, but they did give her a bit of a glare—they still had something to straighten out with her concerning a certain phone call.

"So Carlos, Adam tells us that you're quite the artist. Gonna show us some of your work?" Tommy asked.

The young Hispanic man brightened up considerably. "Yeah, sure. You really wanna see it?"

"Definitely. What do you like to sketch? Any favourite subjects?" Jason asked.

"Oh, all sorts of things . . . but I really like drawing people. Usually I'll take lots of pictures and then sketch from the photograph," Carlos answered.

"That reminds me. I've got the Halloween pictures in my backpack," the gold ranger said, starting to dig for the photos.

"Man, I'm sorry I missed that. What a time to be out of town," Zack grumbled.

"Yeah, we missed you. We had a lot of fun," Kat said.

"Here they are," Jason finally said, tossing the photo envelope onto the lunch table.

"Cool, let me see," Adam said and picked up the photos. "Oh look, it's Scary Spice and the Princess," he quipped, pulling the first one from the envelope. He passed it to Carlos who was sitting beside him.

"And here's Capt. Thomas and Count Jason," he added with the second picture. He grinned widely. "Aladdin and the Matador," he said with a small wink to Carlos.

He continued on with passing them around until he got halfway through the stack. Suddenly, he stopped and his eyes grew large. He simply stared at the picture that sat in his hand. Carlos was expecting him to hand it over and when he didn't, he leaned over closer to see what it was.

Letting out a slow whistle, he grinned and looked at Adam who had started silently looking through the rest of the stack.

"Come on, pass 'em around," Zack said.

"Hold on a minute," Adam said, smiling.

Jason suddenly realized what he was looking at. The pictures from his and Tommy's "photo shoot" were still in the envelope! He made a dive at Adam's hands to grab them before they got passed around, but Adam was just a little too fast for him.

"Oh no you don't . . . I'm lookin' at these! Back off!" Adam said, grinning.

Carlos was laughing and trying to help keep Jason off of Adam, which wasn't an easy task. Tommy was completely lost as to what was going on until Adam turned the picture he was currently enjoying toward the group and the light finally dawned.

"Oh no! Adam please—don't show those!" Tommy pleaded, turning as red as his shirt.

That just made everyone more curious.

"What is it, Adam? What are the pictures of?" Tanya asked, utterly intrigued.

The green ranger managed to toss a picture onto the table and Zack grabbed it before Tommy could snatch it up.

"Oh my goodness . . . Jase Jase Jase . . ." he shook his head and grinned madly. "What have you two been up to?"

Carlos nabbed a picture of Tommy from Adam's hands and tossed it over to Zack.

"And lookee here . . . here's our other budding model. Damn, you guys should get paid for this stuff!"

Tanya, Rocky, and Katherine were grinning and looking over the pictures as Jason and Tommy sat looking mortified. Tommy more so than Jason.

"Look, let's go outside where no one else can see and we'll pass them around, okay?" Jason offered.

"Jase!" Tommy protested.

"Bro, they're gonna see 'em one way or another. At least this way no one else will get a look," he explained.

Everyone got up and walked out into the courtyard—the red and gold rangers bringing up the rear.

"Why didn't you take those pictures out?" Tommy asked Jason in a low voice.

"I meant to—I just forgot!"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "This is embarrassing . . ."

"Oh don't worry about it—you look really hot in those pictures."

Gathered around a table outside, they all looked expectantly at Jason and Tommy.

"Okay look—Tommy and I were just playing around and taking pictures of each other. It's not worth making a big deal out of. We're not naked or anything."

He briefly told them a few details of how the modeling thing came about.

"So here we are in some of our glory. You're not allowed to see all of our glory . . ." He passed over the pictures.

"Well, you're not naked, but boy . . . you do nice things for denim and leather!" Tanya said after getting a good look at the photos.

Tommy stood there still looking embarrassed. He recalled posing in those tight jeans and nothing else, save his arrowhead necklace and a couple of earrings. It wasn't anything erotic or comical—just him in jeans and Jason in leather pants posing on Jason's Harley.

Carlos stood holding a picture in each hand—one of Tommy and one of Jason. When the gold ranger asked him what he thought, he said, "You know, I'd like to sketch these, if you don't mind. You two are very photogenic."

Jason smiled. "Thanks . . . I guess it'd be okay. I'll get you copies if Tommy doesn't mind."

The picture he chose of Tommy was one with him sitting sideways on the bike with one leg pulled up across the seat and the other straight. His jeans were unbuttoned and unzipped a little—the practically shredded thigh of the jeans allowing the view of a lot of skin. One hand was on the back of the seat and the other rested on his knee—the curves of his hard upper body very well accentuated. His long, thick hair was laying softly across his bare shoulders, covering almost half of one of his biceps. He had a sexy, smouldering look on his face.

Jason was pictured straddling the big motorcycle, hands on his leather-clad thighs, his sunglasses on top of his head and earrings gleaming a bit in the sun. His upper body was bare, except for a chunky silver cross on a short leather cord. Your eyes were immediately drawn to the well-defined pecs, biceps, and abs—a powerful man on a powerful machine. That naughty look on his face just topped it all off.

"Guys, all kidding aside, you two really should take these to a modeling agency. Don't you think?" Tanya asked Kat.

"Oh yeah. Very hot," the pink ranger agreed.

Carlos was still discussing the possibility of sketching the two of them.

"You know, I'd love to draw you together. Think you could get Tommy to cooperate?" he asked Jason, seeing that he was the less inhibited of the pair.

"Depends on what kind of poses you had in mind."

"The ideal thing would be both of you bare-chested in an embrace—maybe lying in each other's arms, even," Carlos suggested.

Jason smiled. "Sounds nice, but I can't imagine him letting someone photograph us like that. I'll work on him, though."

_________________________

Later that day at the Youth Center, Tommy had waited as long as he was going to.

"Come on, we've got somethin' to straighten out with the princess," he said in a low voice to Jason.

Jason got up and followed his boyfriend over to the table where Kat sat with Tanya, Emily, and another girl from school.

Leaning in close to Katherine, Tommy whispered, "Can we talk to you . . . alone?"

She turned and looked up into Tommy's face. She could see the unmistakable signs of 'leader mode' in his eyes.

"Umm . . . sure. Okay." Turning to the girls, she said, "I'll be right back."

"Let's go outside," Jason suggested.

The three of them walked out the front doors with Kat in the back. She was a little apprehensive.

'_What is this about? If it were team business, the other guys would be here.'_

Once they reached the picnic tables that sat to the side of the building, Tommy turned quickly and fixed Kat with a hard look. He was pissed.

"Guess who I got a call from on my birthday."

"I have no idea."

"Oh come on—you must have an idea. After all, I'm pretty sure you set it up."

"What are you talking about? I did no such thing."

"Really? Are you sure you didn't call a certain former pink ranger who happens to be my ex-girlfriend and share a little information with her? Something you knew would make her call me?"

"Kim . . ." Kat said under her breath.

"Yeah, Kim," he snapped. "Her main objective in calling wasn't to wish me a happy birthday or find out how I was—which she used as an excuse to call. No, she called with the express purpose of asking me whether or not you were telling the truth. Guess what truth she meant." His eyes were narrowed and he was a little too close to her face for Kat's comfort.

She glanced at Jason who stood there slightly behind Tommy, arms folded across his chest, wearing a stern look. Kat was in for it and she knew it.

"What?" she asked, not willing to volunteer anything.

"The truth about me and Tommy being together which, by the way, is none of her business," Jason said before Tommy could respond.

"What made you think it was your place to do that? Why did you think that'd be a good idea?!" Tommy demanded.

"Look, you two told all of your friends, including Trini who isn't here either. I was just talking to Kim one evening and it sorta slipped," she lied.

"Slipped? Bullshit! Something like that doesn't just slip. You did it on purpose—admit it!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Why would I do that? What would I hope to gain by telling her about your relationship?" Kat asked, her voice shaking.

"Oh, that's easy. You're still mad that I chose Jase over you. You can't accept our relationship and you wanted to make trouble for us. What better way than telling Kim—my ex-girlfriend and his friend since they were little?"

"I never told her to call you. I told you—it just slipped out!"

"And I told you, that's crap! I don't believe that for a minute!"

"You didn't have to tell her to call—you know Kim well enough to know that she would. What else did you tell her?" Jason demanded.

Katherine was getting pissed at being lambasted by these two. She decided to fight back.

"Fine. You wanna know what I told her? I told her exactly what you two told the rest of us. I couldn't tell her anything else because I don't _know_ anything else! What's the big deal? Everyone else knows, why shouldn't Kim? Isn't she your friend too?"

"Because it's not your place to tell her and you did it to stir up trouble for us, that's why," Tommy said. "And no, I don't consider her a friend—she's my ex."

"She's not my friend anymore either. Not after what she did to Tommy," Jason added.

"Now I have to deal with her calling me up and asking me stuff like 'how can you do such a thing?' and 'I thought you were straight—what happened?' and wanting to know if I lied to her while we were dating. Thank you, Kat. I didn't have enough to fuckin' deal with!" Tommy yelled. He was visibly shaking and it alarmed Jason.

"Tommy, calm down. Don't let her get you this upset," the gold ranger said, rubbing Tommy's arms from his position behind him.

"Oh why don't you stop treating him like a baby? It's sickening. He's not that fragile!" Kat spat at Jason.

Jason's face turned absolutely grim. He moved quickly around Tommy to get in her face. "Look bitch, stress is what caused his first seizure and I don't want him to have any more, do you? Plus, you don't know the whole story like I do, so don't tell me how to treat him, okay?!" Jason growled at her.

Kat had never really been fond of Jason, but she had been nice because of Tommy and then later, for the good of the team. Now though, she couldn't stand him and no longer felt the need to play nice.

"You know what, Jason? You're a manipulative jerk and I'm not the only one who sees it!"

"_Manipulative_? How the hell am I manipulative?"

"You come back here and practically surgically attach yourself to Tommy—almost pushing the rest of his friends away. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Tommy's bi and you two happen to start dating. Since then, you two have been connected at the hip—again, pushing us away. When the need arose for a new ranger on the team, guess who wormed their way in? You act like you're taking care of him, like he's a child or something, but what you're really doing is trying to make him dependant on you so he won't think of letting anyone else in his life. What else have you coerced him into?"

"That's enough!" Tommy yelled. He pointed at Kat's face. "You are so far off base and completely out of line! I _am not_ a child and I am not being manipulated as you seem to think. Jason has been my best friend for years—he's like my brother. And yes, I love him. What? Do you think he brainwashed me or something? I had been having feelings for him for as long as he had for me, we were just too scared to say anything. And he _does_ take care of me. As much as I hate to admit it, I _need_ taking care of sometimes. He's been going to counselling with me and he knows what I've been through in my life. Stuff you'll never know or could ever understand—you really are a 'princess.' So don't you dare accuse him of manipulating me—he loves me and I love him. That's what it comes down to." He stopped and took a deep breath.

"And another thing," he continued, "as for him joining the team, he is the most qualified to hold those powers of anyone I know. Deny that he's a great ranger—go ahead! I chose him because he can do the job--not because he coerced me into it. That was my decision as commander." He shook his head. "I can't believe some of the crap you came up with. You're delusional! What color is the sky in your world anyway?"

"I've had enough of this. You two enjoy your screwed up lives and leave me out of it!" Kat said, turning to walk away.

"It'll be a pleasure," Jason called after her. Then he turned to Tommy. "Are you okay?"

Tommy turned away. "Yeah. Let's go."

The gold ranger caught up to him and they climbed in the Mustang and drove toward Tommy's house.

"I think we just lost our pink ranger," Tommy said.

"We'll be okay without her. What did she ever do besides scream for you to help her anyway?! _'Tom-maaay!'_" he mocked in his best, high-pitched, feminine voice. "If need be, we can find someone else."

The red ranger actually smiled a bit at that. "I guess so, but I just don't want to deal with this right now."

"You shouldn't have to. She's just jealous and acting like a mad, spoiled brat. Don't let it worry you too much."

"You know what? It doesn't. Right now, I don't care what she does. She's not gonna talk to you like that and get away with it. Screw her."

_______________________________________

"Mom, I'm kinda concerned about something," Jason said as he walked into the kitchen.

"What's that, baby?" Theresa Scott asked, looking up from her cup of tea.

Jason sat across from her at the small table and sighed deeply. "Well, about the party this weekend—I mean, I know Saturday is my actual birthday and you and Dad are the ones giving the party, but . . . the party is for Tommy too, and . . ."

Theresa smiled warmly at her son. "What are you tripping over your tongue trying to say, darlin'?"

"I'm just worried that Tommy will feel, I don't know, like he's intruding on my party—even though he knows it's his party too."

"Think so?"

"Yeah—I know him and how he thinks. Plus, I don't know if his parents will make much of an effort either. They're coming, right?"

"When I spoke to his mother a couple of days ago she said they were. They're paying for half of everything, you know."

"That's good. I would just feel really bad if I got a stack of gifts and he got next to nothing."

"Now do you think I'd let that happen? I had already thought of that possibility and I've got it covered, okay?" She smiled and grasped his hand. "You're a good friend, Jason—I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," he said quietly and looked at the floor.

"What's the matter now?"

"I just wish Tommy's parents would treat him better. I just don't understand how they can practically act like he's not there. Yeah, they got him a nice birthday present, but still . . . He's such a good guy—loving, caring, funny—he's a great friend. He just deserves so much better than what he's gotten in life. Sometimes I actually feel guilty."

"Guilty? For what, son?"

"For having had such a nice childhood—great parents, a nice home, lots of love—I've never wanted for anything. Tommy's had material things, but . . . nothing else."

The sad look on his face hurt the mother's heart within Theresa. "Jason, tell me what they've done to the boy. I promise I won't let on that I know anything."

He sighed heavily. "Mom, I can't. I promised Tommy that I wouldn't and I can't go back on my word. Just know that he's never really felt loved or felt like he was good enough. I'm trying my best to change that."

'_I need to shut up before I say too much—I'm gonna mess around and tell her something I shouldn't.'_

"He's the best friend I've ever had and I feel protective of him, I guess," he said, trying to cover.

"I know. Tommy's lucky to have you. I still mean what I said before: He's welcome here anytime."

Jason nodded but he wondered how welcome either one of them would be if his parents knew the truth.

____________________________

Friday rolled around pretty quickly and the boys confirmed their double date plans for that evening. They were going to meet up at Adam's house and then take Jason's car to Stefano's, the new Italian restaurant that everyone had been raving about.

At 5:30 sharp, Carlos arrived at the Park home.

"Hey! You're right on time. Come in," Adam said, noting how nice he looked in his black jeans and deep purple shirt.

"Ready for tonight? I think it's gonna be fun."

"Oh yeah. Jason and Tommy are always a blast to hang out with. Come up to my room while we wait, okay?"

As Carlos followed Adam up the stairs, he couldn't help but notice how nicely he filled out those blue jeans. They reached Adam's room and once inside, he closed the door. Carlos gave him a questioning look.

"My little brother will be in here if I don't," the green ranger explained.

"I understand. My sisters are the same way," he grinned.

Carlos started looking around at all the trophies and plaques adorning Adam's walls.

"Wow, you've been competing for quite a while, haven't you?"

"Yeah, since I was little. How 'bout you? I'll bet you've won a few yourself in soccer."

"A couple. I actually have more awards for my art, though."

"I'm sure—you're really talented."

Carlos smiled. "Thanks. I'd love to draw you sometime. Whatcha think?"

"Me? I can understand why you'd want to sketch Jason or Tommy—those picture were, well . . . hot. But me?"

Carlos moved a little closer and touched Adam's back. "Why would you even ask that?"

Adam turned and looked up into the slightly taller boy's face. "I don't know. If you think I'm worth drawing, then that's good enough for me."

Slowly their lips met in a soft, warm kiss, hands eventually finding each other's bodies. As they parted, Carlos whispered, "I think _you're_ pretty hot."

Adam grinned and pulled his new boyfriend into another kiss, this one a little more heated and intense. His hands moved up Carlos' strong back and entangled in his thick, black hair.

"Mmmm . . ." Adam moaned quietly as he felt his lips being teased open by Carlos' tongue. He allowed him to explore his mouth and then he invaded his boyfriend's mouth in much the same way. Hands caressing Adam's back under his shirt, Carlos moaned into his mouth, causing a tingle to shoot down the green ranger's spine and into his groin.

When air became necessary, they parted and held each other close, Adam nibbling at Carlos' strong neck.

"Adam! Your friends are here!" Mr. Park called from the bottom of the stairs.

Adam reluctantly pulled away and went to the door. "Thanks! Be right down!"

They grinned at each other and kissed once more.

"Ready to go?" Adam asked.

"Yeah," Carlos said, grabbing his jacket.

__________________________

Once seated in the Tuscan-style dining room, the four young men perused the menu.

"So, what looks good to you?" Tommy asked Jason who was seated next to him.

"It _all_ looks good! Man, I could eat a horse!" Jason replied.

"You sound like Rocky," Adam giggled. Tommy agreed.

"I don't know what some of this stuff is. Do you?" Carlos asked Adam.

"Most of it I recognize, but . . . Jase, what is the difference in all these cheeses and pastas?"

Jason explained that most pasta is the same; there are just different shapes and thicknesses. The cheeses he described as best he could, with the aid of the menu.

Carlos smiled. "You must eat a lot of Italian food."

"At least twice a week at home. My mom is Italian," Jason explained. "I have to work out like a mad man to keep from being the size of a bus!"

They all laughed.

"Italian, huh? I thought you were at least part Hispanic like me," Carlos said.

"Nope—Irish and Italian—Gaelic and Garlic, as we say," Jason responded with a grin.

"Tommy, what's your background? I can't pin you down either."

"Me? Oh, I'm Native American and German."

"And I'm Korean and English—we've got the freakin' UN sittin' right here," Adam joked.

"Yeah, all we need is Tanya, Kat, Billy, and Rocky here and we'd have African-American, Australian, German/Norwegian, and Spanish," Tommy added.

"Rocky's Hispanic?" Carlos asked.

"No, he's Spanish—Castilian, from Madrid," Adam explained.

"Oh cool. I didn't think he had the colouring to be Mexican like my family."

Everyone's family trees having been established, they got down to some serious eating: soup, calamari, stuffed mushrooms, cannelloni, fettuccini, tilapia . . . and tiramisu for dessert.

"I think you're gonna have to carry me out of here, bro," Jason said, rubbing his overly-full tummy.

"Hmphf . . . like I could. Besides, I was just about to tell you to carry me," Tommy responded.

"Well get your big asses up and let's get going—we've got a movie to catch," Adam told them.

Once they managed to get up from the table, they made their way to the bowling alley near the mall and shot a few games of pool, then hit the movie theatre. They all had a really good time hanging out together and promised to do it again real soon.

_______________________

When Jason and Tommy returned to the Scotts' house that evening, there was an email from a very excited-sounding Jacques waiting for the gold ranger.

_Jason,_

_Hi! Got your pictures this afternoon and I have one question: How the hell do you two ever manage to get out of bed?!! My god, you're both so hot posing on that bike. As for Tommy . . . how do you keep your hands off him?! I'd wear him out on a daily basis! Nice leather pants, by the way. Why did I never see them? *grin and wink*_

_The Halloween pictures were really funny. Love the costumes! All of your friends are very attractive—the girls are really pretty and the guys are hot! So the gladiator is Rocky, right? He's really cute—but then so is Adam. Carlos is gorgeous._

_Now I really can't wait to come see you guys this summer! I'm gonna have a tough time keeping my hands to myself, though. Mathias told me that I'd better behave myself! He says "Hi!", by the way. I'll write again soon._

_Jacques_

_PS—I hope those websites are helping—let me know!_

Jason sat in front of his computer laughing so hard that Tommy had to ask.

"Okay give . . . what's so funny?"

"This email from Jacques. I sent him some of the pictures from the Halloween party and a couple of us on the Harley. He's so funny!"

"You sent him those pictures of me? Jase!"

"What? Why are you so shy? You're gorgeous in those shots—I was just showing you off a bit."

Tommy groaned. "I don't even know him, though."

"So? So what if a guy from Quebec that goes to school in Switzerland thinks you're hot?"

"He thinks I'm hot . . . Jase!"

"Tommy—you _are_ hot. What's the problem? Come here and read the email," Jason said, moving back from the monitor screen.

Tommy slowly pulled himself up from the bed and made his way to the desk, shaking his head as he walked.

"I'm gonna figure out someone that you don't know and send them pictures of you," he groused.

As Tommy was reading, his face was turning redder and redder.

"He'd wear me out on a daily basis, huh? Oh my god . . ."

Jason just giggled and grinned.

"Okay, that was embarrassing." He shook his head and looked at his bro. "So show me a picture of Jacques—I wanna know what my admirer looks like."

"You've seen him before—I sent you a picture of him not long after we became roommates."

"Did you? I don't remember. Let me see another one."

Jason obediently pulled up a nice shot of him and Jacques together, taken outside of their dormitory. Jacques was a nicely-built young man, about the same height as Jason, with golden brown hair and large green eyes.

"Nice-looking guy," Tommy commented.

"So are you less freaked out now? You really shouldn't be so insecure, bro. Lots of people—guys _and_ girls—think you're really attractive. And you're only getting better," Jason smiled appreciatively.

"What do you mean?"

"I can just tell—the more mature you get, the better you're gonna get. I'm really not gonna be able to keep my hands off you by the time we're 25!"

Tommy smiled wickedly. "You can't now . . . you sex fiend."

"Are you complaining?"

"No, no . . . no complaints here." Then Tommy remembered something else from the email that interested him. "By the way, which websites was Jacques talking about?"

"Uh . . . ummm . . . yeah . . ." Jason stammered.

"Jason?" Tommy said in an accusatory tone.

"You'll find out tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night? Our party?"

"No silly . . . afterwards . . ."

"Oh!" He paused. "Really? Gonna teach me some new tricks?" he asked provocatively.

"That's the plan . . ."

_______________________

"25, huh? You think we'll last that long?" Tommy asked casually as they lay in Jason's bed after a nice, long make-out session.

Jason looked almost hurt. "I sincerely hope so. Don't you?"

Tommy rubbed his lover's warm, naked back. "Well yeah, of course I do. It's just . . . I don't know . . . a lot can happen in 7 years. We'll be out of college by then and hopefully working in whatever we each decide to do."

"That doesn't mean that we have to grow apart, Tommy."

"I know. Most teenage relationships don't last that long, that's all."

"We're not most teenagers, bro. We've both had a lot of responsibility placed on our shoulders for a while now. We've dealt with things even our parents can't fathom. You and I have stared down death and destruction so many times we can't even remember them all."

Tommy nodded in agreement.

"We're way more mature than most people 10 years older than us and I'd like to think it's made us appreciate what we have. Especially when I nearly lost you . . ." Jason's eyes were shining with unshed tears as he spoke. Tommy had hit a nerve.

"Hey, it's okay baby. Don't get upset. I didn't mean anything by what I said." He paused and smiled warmly at Jason.

"I love you so much . . . more than I thought I was capable of. I'm not going anywhere," he professed and ran his fingers through Jason's black, spiky hair.

"Good, 'cause I waited way too long and went through way too much to be with you—I'm not giving you up without a major fight," Jason proclaimed.

Tommy smiled. "That's good to know. I feel the same way."

___________________________

_Author's Notes: Well . . . what do you think? Will Jason and Tommy become models? What's going on with Rocky? Has the team lost its pink ranger? Will the boys get it together after their party? Keep reading to find out!_

_Thank you so much to all those who reviewed the last chapter! I love to hear from you guys! And please vote in the poll on my profile if you haven't already. Oh . . . and don't forget to review!!_


	27. Best Laid Plans

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Still Rated 'M' for a reason! If you're underage or not comfortable with male/male relationships, hit that 'Back' button now!

I am now offering my services as a beta—please check out my beta reader profile if you're interested.

Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter—real life gets in the way more and more. Actually, updates are going to have to slow down a bit, but I promise not to abandon this story. Hang in there with me—I'll continue to update as quickly as I can, I promise!

**Chapter 27—Best Laid Plans**

"Jase . . . Jase, wake up."

"Hmmm? What?" the sleepy gold ranger mumbled.

"Wake up, Sleepyhead."

"Mmmm . . . I'm awake." He yawned and scratched his head. "What is it?"

"Good morning, Birthday Boy!" Tommy said brightly and planted a warm kiss on his sleepy lips.

A smile slowly crept across Jason's face. "Thanks. You're chipper this morning. Thought you weren't a morning person."

"I'm not, but I have a reason for being up early. Now get up and get dressed."

"Why? Where we goin'?"

"I'm taking you out for breakfast—come on."

"But this bed is so soft and warm. Can't we just stay here and let me have _you_ for breakfast?"

Tommy smiled and rubbed Jason's chest. "Not a bad idea, but I'm hungry. I'll make you a deal—you get up and let me treat you to breakfast and I'll let you treat yourself to me tonight," he said with a wicked grin.

"Mmmm . . . now there's an offer that's hard to refuse," the gold ranger replied. "Okay, I'm gettin' up."

__________________

They drove to one of their favourite restaurants and once seated, ordered pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, juice, and coffee. Tommy felt that turnabout was fair play, so when Jason excused himself to the restroom, he made sure their server knew it was his birthday.

Jason chuckled and shook his head when his blueberry pancakes arrived with a lit birthday candle sticking out the top. Tommy laughed too.

"Happy Birthday, bro," he said with a big grin. "Make a wish."

Jason thought for a split second, winked, and blew out the single candle. "And no, I'm not telling you what I wished for."

"Knowing you I can guess . . ."

"Probably, but I'm still not telling."

When the scent of bacon and eggs reached Jason's nose he suddenly realized how hungry he was. "After that dinner last night I didn't think I'd be hungry again for days," Jason said.

"I know, me too—but that cannelloni was unbelievable!" Tommy remarked.

"Mmm, yeah. We'll have to go back there soon."

They dug into their breakfast, making short work of it. Afterwards, they enjoyed another cup of coffee and talked.

"Oh yeah . . . I've been wanting to talk to you about something," Jason started.

"Oh? What's that?"

"When we were passing around those pictures the other day, Carlos asked me something interesting."

"Really?"

"He wanted to know if he could sketch us—I told him I'd ask you."

"Sketch us? From those pictures on the Harley?"

"Yeah." He figured to wait and see how Tommy took that bit before proposing the pictures together that Carlos wanted. "Whatcha think?"

Tommy surprised him. "Well, I guess that'd be okay—he's already seen the pictures and I think he's a good guy. Sure. Why not?"

Jason was put off guard—he was all ready with an argument to try and convince his boyfriend.

"Really? You're okay with it?"

"Sure."

"Wow. Good. I'll give him copies of the photos he liked then." He paused. "There was one other thing he asked me about . . ."

"And what was that?" he said as he eyed Jason suspiciously.

"Ummm . . . he asked if he could draw us together . . . like _together_."

Tommy's eyes widened. "What do you mean? Like . . . in the middle of something?!"

Jason laughed. "No no . . . like with our arms around each other . . . in an embrace. He'd take the pictures and then sketch from the best one. He'd give us all the pictures when he was done."

Tommy looked unsure. "I . . . I don't know, Jason. Think that's a good idea?"

"As long as the pics don't end up in the wrong hands—why not?"

"That's what I'm worried about. My mother probably still goes through my room—I couldn't hide them from her."

"I can take care of that. I've hidden girlie magazines in my room for years—Mom's never found them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. She'd confront me and bless me out about that."

"Jase . . ." He paused. His bro could tell he had something serious on his mind. "How is she gonna react when she finds out about us? How are any of them gonna react? We can't hide it forever."

Jason reached over and touched Tommy's hand after first looking around quickly to ensure that no one was watching them. "I know . . . and I don't want to. I'd love to be able to tell everybody about us, but you know we can't do that. Not yet, anyway."

Tommy nodded. "It's just . . . see, before you did something as simple as touching me, you had to make sure no one would see . . . and I understand why . . ." He stopped and sighed deeply. "I just think it's gonna get really old really fast."

"I know what you mean. I hate having to be this way too."

"I guess I'm just torn between what I want to do and what I have to do. Is it always gonna be like this?"

The gold ranger gazed sympathetically at his boyfriend. He knew just how he felt—he'd been having thoughts like that too.

'Will_ it always be like this? Will we have to live our lives hiding our relationship from the world?'_

It wasn't fair. The best thing to happen to either of them in a long time and they had to treat it like a crazy aunt that you keep in the attic when company comes over.

"Bro, I don't know. I suppose that'll depend on where we live. As long as we live in a small town like this, we'll probably have to hide it to a certain extent. Now, if you wanna live in LA or San Francisco—that'd be different. As for our parents . . . I'm not sure how they're gonna take the news. Initially, I think, my mom will cry and be pretty upset and Dad . . . well, Dad'll be angry—I know that. I believe they'll get over it, though. What about your folks?"

Tommy shook his head. "I really don't know. As little as they seem to care about me, I don't know why it would matter. I'll bet Mom'll make a big deal out of it, though. Another excuse to bitch me out."

"What about your dad?"

"Who knows? He'll probably get drunk and either trash the house or try to fight me . . . or both."

"So I guess we need to keep it quiet as long as possible, huh?"

"Yeah . . . unfortunately."

"Tommy, when we go to college it'll be different. Hopefully we can find some places there that we can hang out and actually act like a couple. And we'll have our own dorm room or apartment, so we'll actually be living together—won't that be nice?"

The red ranger brightened up a bit at that. "That _will_ be nice—at least we'll have some privacy. I'm sorry I'm being so serious and depressing on your birthday. It's just been on my mind a lot lately."

"It's okay . . . we need to talk about stuff like this. As for privacy, I hope we have some tonight," he said with a wink and a grin.

All of a sudden, Tommy's stomach knotted up. _'Tonight . . . a few hours from now . . . How can he be so calm about this?!_'

Tommy chuckled nervously. "Um . . . yeah. Me too."

They paid their check and started out the front doors.

"Jase?"

"Yeah?"

"Girly magazines?!"

______________________

That afternoon as they were getting ready for their party, Tommy decided it was time to give Jason his gift. Half dressed in only his jeans, he sat on the bed and beckoned Jason over.

"Come 'ere for a minute."

"Hmm? Oh, okay," Jason responded and sat near his bro. "What's up?"

"I got you a little somethin' for your birthday. I thought I'd give it to you before the party." He turned and opened Jason's nightstand drawer and pulled out a box.

"How do you keep hiding things in my stuff without me knowing about it? First the cooler in the trunk and now this."

Tommy grinned slyly. "Oh that's easy—I'm sneaky. Remember that."

"No kiddin' . . . and I will," Jason responded with a smile.

Tommy handed him a nicely-wrapped square box. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will," Jason smiled.

He carefully untied the ribbon and opened the paper down the seams.

Tommy giggled. "Just rip into it—you're killin' me."

"No, you put effort into this—I'd rather open it carefully."

Tommy sighed. "Okay—just hurry up. I'm dyin' to know if you like it!"

Finally, Jason got the paper off and immediately saw the emblem of the downtown leather shop on the box. He grinned. "We sure have given them a lot of business this week, haven't we?"

"Yep. I've had this since Monday—that's why I'm so anxious to see if you like it."

"Monday? How'd you get there?" Jason asked, knowing Tommy wasn't allowed to drive yet.

"Adam picked it up for me," Tommy smiled. "Open it!"

Lifting the top from the box, Jason saw a wide braided bracelet made of black and red strands of soft leather. It had a good-sized pewter medallion that was engraved with a Celtic knot design.

Jason gave his bro a broad smile. "Niiiice. I needed something to represent the Irish side of my heritage. This is really cool . . ."

Tommy returned the smile. "I'm so glad you like it! I wasn't sure."

"How could I not? My favourite colours, made of leather, and it's got Celtic stuff on it. It rocks!"

He snapped it on his wrist, making sure it fit.

"Looks good," Tommy said.

"I love it—thanks bro." He gave Tommy a warm hug and a kiss . . . and another . . . and another . . .

______________________

The party was going very well with lots of guests showing up and enjoying the food and the music. The Youth Center was decorated very nicely with balloons, streamers, and a big banner that read "Happy 18th Tommy and Jason!"

Tommy kept looking over at the table where his parents sat talking to the Scotts. He still couldn't believe it.

"Hey bro, isn't David coming?" Jason asked, diverting Tommy's attention.

"Yeah, I don't know why he hasn't shown up yet," Tommy replied looking around.

He didn't see David, but he did notice Adam and Carlos whispering and laughing when they thought no one was watching. He nudged Jason and grinned. "They'd better be careful—they'll give themselves away."

Jason nodded.

Lots of friends from school came by to wish them "Happy Birthday" and to talk—guys from the football team, girls from the cheerleading squad, people from their classes, and of course, their close friends. All except for Katherine—she refused to show up even though Tanya tried to make peace between the pink ranger and Tommy and Jason. After the boys explained their side of what happened, the yellow ranger began to see things differently. They all agreed though that there'd be no discussion of such things tonight.

At last, David came in holding hands with a young lady who Tommy assumed was his new girlfriend. As he walked toward them to greet them, he got a good look at her—it was Alicia!

"David! Hi!" Tommy said brightly as he hugged his brother. "Is _this_ your new girlfriend?"

David smiled widely. "Sure is—and we have you to thank for introducing us."

Tommy turned to his chemistry lab partner. "And just why haven't you told me about this? I see you everyday . . ."

She giggled. "David asked me not to—we wanted to see how things were gonna go before we announced anything."

"Well ya coulda told your brother!" Tommy said in mock irritation. He hugged Alicia. "I'm happy for you—don't let him get on your nerves too bad."

"I won't," she smiled. "And if he does, I'll have his baby brother knock him around a bit, okay?"

"I'd like to see him try it . . ." David laughed.

"Oh, I could take you . . . you better believe that," Tommy retorted.

"Mmm-hmm," David replied.

"Tommy, why aren't you dating anyone? You know you could have most anyone you wanted," Alicia asked.

Tommy grinned and looked at his brother. "I . . . umm . . . have been too busy catching up on my schoolwork so that I can graduate this Spring. I'll find someone eventually."

'_Good save, bro,'_ David thought.

Jason came hurrying over when he saw David. "David! You made it! We were wondering what happened to you."

"Sorry we were late. I was talking something over with Alicia's parents."

"Alicia? She's your new girlfriend?"

"Come on bro, I'll explain," Tommy said, pulling Jason aside.

Rocky came in soon after with his sister Selena and her friend in tow. The girls made a beeline for the birthday boys.

"Jason, Tommy—this is my friend Melanie. Melanie—this is Jason Scott and Tommy Oliver, the guests of honour.

"I'm glad you could come, girls. Ol' Rocky not being an ass tonight?" Tommy grinned.

"Oh, he's alright—as big brothers go," Selena grinned.

"Speaking of big brothers, mine is here—the one I showed you the picture of."

"Oooh—introduce us!" she said giddily.

Tommy grinned. "Okay, give me a minute." He went off across the room to find David, leaving the girls with Jason.

Selena leaned over to her friend. "His brother's gorgeous just like he is."

Jason smiled at them. "Sorry, don't have a brother to introduce you to. Guess you're stuck with just me."

"Doesn't sound bad at all," Melanie said. "Don't you teach karate here?"

"Sure do. Why don't you two come down here and train with us? Tommy teaches too."

The girls looked at each other. "Sounds like fun. Oh Jason, I meant to ask you guys before—what did Tommy mean when he told me that he and his brother didn't grow up together? What happened?" Selena asked quietly.

"Well, Tommy and his brother David were separated when they were very young, when their parents were killed in an accident –they only found each other about 6 months ago. Tommy was raised by his adopted family—the couple on the right side of that table over there," Jason explained, indicating the table where the Olivers sat talking with his parents. "David grew up with what was left of their birth family—an uncle named Sam."

"Oh . . . that's sad. At least they managed to find each other, though."

Right about then, Tommy returned with David. "So, this is my big brother. David—this is Rocky's younger sister Selena and her friend Melanie. We were having a conversation at our Halloween party about her big brother being an ass—she wanted to know if mine was," Tommy laughed.

David smiled at her. "And what did you say?" he asked Tommy.

Tommy put his arm around David's shoulders. "I told her you were a prince of a man . . ." he said, grinning and smiling at the girls.

After they had talked a bit, Selena and her friend went off to talk to Adam and his new constant companion. Tommy, David, and Jason stood talking for a bit until Tommy noticed his parents watching them.

"Come on, let's go speak to Mommy and Daddy Dearest," he said, grasping both men by the arms and guiding them across the room.

"Mom, Dad, Mr. and Mrs. Scott—you know my brother David. He wanted to make sure he got to speak to you all," Tommy said.

Jason grinned—he wanted to see how the Olivers would react.

"Mr. and Mrs. Oliver, Mr. and Mrs. Scott—very nice to see you all again. This is a great party you've thrown for the birthday boys," David said quite politely.

All of them smiled up at the boys, though the Olivers seemed a bit uncomfortable. That was probably because they could feel Tommy's gaze falling directly on them.

"I still can't get over how much you two look alike," Mr. Scott said to Tommy and David. "Which one of your birth parents do you resemble?"

Jason's eyes widened at his father's question. Mr. Scott had to know that such a query would upset the Olivers to some degree. Stephen Scott always had been a bit of a pot-stirrer, though. Sensing the gaze of his son and knowing what he was probably thinking, he gave Jason a covert wink.

David spoke up. "Well, we both have our father's height and build and some of our mother's facial features. Little brother here actually resembles her more than I do—but not with the goatee," he laughed.

So did most of the table. Michael and Margaret Oliver forced a laugh and a smile.

"Well, I'm sure they would be extremely proud of both of you. You're such polite, intelligent, and handsome men!" Mrs. Scott remarked with a big, motherly smile.

"Thank you," Tommy and David said together.

_____________________________

Adam looked up from his conversation over his plate of hotdogs and chips to notice Rocky picking at his food on the other side of the table. He had been acting a little distant since early in the week. The green ranger had tried to talk to him about it a couple of times, but Rocky insisted that he was okay. Finally, Adam couldn't stand it anymore—he looked so sad. Excusing himself from Carlos, he walked around the table and took Rocky by the arm.

"We'll be right back," Adam said to the others at the table as he pulled Rocky with him.

"What's up?" Rocky asked, surprised.

"I need to talk to you—come on."

They walked back toward the alcove and peeked around the corner to make sure it wasn't being used. Rocky was still a little reticent to go back there after what happened at Tommy's party.

"Okay, you dragged me back here, now what's going on?" Rocky demanded.

"I want to talk to you and I want you to be honest with me, okay?"

Rocky thought he knew what was coming. "Sure. What is it?" he said without enthusiasm.

"It's just that I've noticed that you haven't been acting like yourself lately, that's all. What's wrong? What's bothering you?" Adam asked gently.

Rocky sighed. "Nothing—I'm okay."

"Bullshit. I've known you since kindergarten—you can't lie to me."

"Adam . . ."

"Don't 'Adam' me—tell me, bro."

The blue ranger knew he wasn't going to get away without an explanation this time. Sighing deeply once more he tried to put his emotions into words.

"I . . . I guess," he stopped and shook his head. "I suppose I'm just feeling a little left out."

Adam could tell he was embarrassed. He placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"Rocky . . . why didn't you tell me?"

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

"We're all your friends. Why would you feel left out?"

"I suppose because you're with Carlos now and Tommy is with Jason and I'm . . . not. It's stupid."

"It's not stupid, Rocky. I'm sorry you feel that way. Have I been ignoring you?"

"No, no . . . you haven't. And neither has Jason or Tommy—especially Jason. He picks on me every chance he gets. It's not you guys—it's me."

"I really didn't want my dating someone to affect you."

"Adam, I told you—it's not you. I just wish I could meet someone—I'm not such a bad guy." He blushed slightly and looked down--Rocky was ashamed of his self-pity. "Never mind."

"Of course you're not a bad guy! You'll meet someone, bro—and anyone would be lucky to have you. It'll happen, man—I know it. Isn't there anyone you're interested in?"

"Not anyone that I think I have the slightest chance with, no."

"What does that mean?" Adam asked.

"You know exactly what I mean—they're out of my league. Which reminds me—I guess Carlos isn't the one you were crushin' on before, huh? Unless he recently broke up with someone."

"Huh?"

"You told me before that the guy you liked was taken—the one you thought was out of your league. I guess that wasn't Carlos, was it?" Rocky explained.

"Oh . . . no, it wasn't him. That guy is still with his boyfriend—and looks like he will be for a long time. But I'm happy with Carlos—it's all good."

"Still not gonna tell me who it is?"

"Nope," Adam answered with a grin.

___________________________________

When it was time for cake and presents, everyone gathered around the boys' table as a huge birthday cake was placed in front of them. It had nine candles on each side and read "Happy Birthday Jason and Tommy!" in multi-coloured icing. After making their wishes, they blew out the candles on both sides and then smiled at each other as everyone applauded.

Each young man received several nice presents from their parents and lots of cool stuff from their friends, including several gift cards to a new sporting goods store in town that specialized in martial arts equipment. The guys had been wanting to check that place out—now they had money to spend there!

David presented Tommy with an embossed leather-bound book which contained the history of their people along with a new choker necklace made of buffalo bone. Tommy really appreciated these special gifts--almost as much as he appreciated having his brother around to give them to him.

After the presents, David corralled the birthday boys to talk something over with them.

"Guys, I want to invite you on a little camping trip that I'm planning for next weekend. You're not busy, are you?"

Tommy and Jason looked at each other.

"No, not that we know of. Sounds like fun!" Jason answered. Tommy nodded.

"Good. Would you like to bring some of your friends? Maybe Adam and Rocky or Tanya and Katherine? Alicia's coming and bringing a girlfriend—that's what I had to talk over with her parents."

"Yeah, the only way they'd let me go was if I took another girl with me," Alicia added.

"Adam and Rocky, sure. Oh, and Carlos . . . but not Tanya and Kat—we're, uh, not exactly getting along right now," Tommy said.

"Really? What happened?" David asked, surprised.

"Tell you later," his brother responded, giving him a look that David understood.

"So let's go ask the guys," Jason suggested.

"Oh . . . where were you wanting to go?" Tommy asked.

"Just up in the hills near the rez—about two hours from here—there's a very good spot near a small lake."

Jason smiled. "Hey, sounds good. I'll go get the guys and bring them over," he said and hurried off to find the blue and green rangers and the artist/soccer star.

"So who is Carlos? Have I met him?" David asked.

"Carlos Vallerte, the soccer player from school?" Alicia queried.

"That's him. He's been hanging around with us lately. He met Adam through the team and he's also been learning some karate from Adam when they're not on the soccer field," Tommy responded.

Jason soon returned with the other three and David asked them if they'd like to go. Adam and Carlos seemed very keen, but Rocky was a different story.

"I don't know if I can. I'm supposed to do something with the family next weekend," Rocky remarked.

"Aww . . . are you sure? It won't seem right without you there," Adam told him, remembering their earlier conversation.

"Yeah Rocko . . . see if you can get out of the family thing and go with us, okay?" Tommy said.

"I'll see," the blue ranger replied half-heartedly.

Once they'd dispersed, Tommy made a point to seek out Adam and talk to him privately.

"Adam, what's wrong with Rocky? He's not himself," the red ranger asked.

"I had a talk with him earlier. It seems that he's feeling a bit left out since I started going out with Carlos. You know, you and Jason are together and now me and Carlos—he's a little lonely."

Tommy sighed and nodded. "I know how that feels. Well look, Alicia is bringing a friend along—maybe she and Rocky will hit it off."

"Maybe so. I'll talk to him about it. I would hate for him to feel like a 5th wheel."

"Me too, but I know we'll all have fun."

"Ummm Tommy . . . what will the sleeping arrangements be like?"

"I don't know—we didn't discuss that."

"It's just that I doubt David has told Alicia about you and Jason and me and Carlos—if we share tents, she's sure to figure it out. Especially since you and Jason can't keep your hands off each other," Adam grinned.

"Good point. I'll talk it over with David. Do you and Carlos want to sleep togeth- . . . uh, share a tent?"

Adam continued to grin madly. "Yeah, we definitely do—share a tent, that is. A little too early for the other stuff."

Tommy laughed and nodded. "I'll go speak to David."

_______________________

"Bro, have you told Alicia about me and Jason?" Tommy asked David when they were alone together in the restroom.

"No, I haven't. I didn't think it was my place to do that."

"She's bound to figure it out on this camping trip. Do you think we can trust her? We don't want the news all over school."

"Yeah, I think so . . . don't you?"

"She seems trustworthy, but . . . I don't know. Maybe you should find out how she feels about same sex relationships first."

"She likes you and Jason—I wouldn't worry."

"I know, but we're not the only ones concerned—Adam and Carlos are dating too."

"Really? Well, I'll talk to her and see what she says. She's bound to wonder why I'm asking, though. Do you want me to tell her?"

"Hmmm . . . I think Jason and I should be the ones to give her the news. Why don't we just talk to her tonight? Meet us in the alcove back here in a few minutes—let's get this over with."

__________________________

When the four of them had assembled, Tommy decided to go ahead and begin the conversation.

"Alicia, Jason and I wanted to talk to you about something important. If we're going on this camping trip next weekend, you're gonna find out anyway so we thought we'd give you a heads up in case it upsets you."

She looked back and forth between them and David looking most confused.

"Okaaaaay . . ."

Unable to figure out exactly how to say it without being blunt, Tommy slipped his arm around Jason's waist and his bro followed suit. Jason looked her in the eyes and could see that the light was beginning to break through.

"We're together—we're dating," he said to her, carefully gauging her reaction.

Her eyes widened a bit and she gasped slightly. "You're kidding."

"No, we're not. We're very serious," Tommy responded.

She could see that they were. She looked up at David who merely nodded.

"I never would have thought . . . I mean, you don't act . . . _really_?!" Alicia stumbled.

"Yes, really. Does it bother you?" Tommy asked gently.

"Umm . . . no, I guess not. I'm just really surprised. I have gay friends back at home, but you can tell they're gay. You two . . . never."

"Well, we're not actually gay—we're bi. Now you're one of only six or seven people at school that knows—it's not common knowledge and we want to keep it that way, okay?" Jason responded.

"Oh yeah—no problem. I wouldn't dare tell anyone. Not that they'd believe me anyway . . ."

"We just don't wanna take any chances. There's a bunch of guys at school—some of the football players in the next room as a matter of fact—that would make our lives hell if they found out."

"Have you told the folks yet?" David asked.

"No, not yet. We've decided to put that off as long as possible," Jason answered.

"So this friend you're bringing next weekend—will she be okay with us? And can she be trusted not to spread it around?" Tommy asked.

Alicia thought for a minute. "You know, we've never talked about stuff like this. I'm not sure how she feels about it."

"Could you find out tactfully? And if she has a problem with it, choose someone else to bring?" David asked gently.

"Sure. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"Adam wanted me to ask about the sleeping arrangements. How are we gonna do this?" Tommy inquired.

"Well, I figured the girls would be in one tent, you and Jason in one, and whoever else could be divided up," David answered.

"Okay, Adam and Carlos in one and if Rocky gets to come, he can bunk in with you. Will that work?" Tommy asked his brother.

"Umm . . . can I ask a question?" Alicia queried, looking at Jason and Tommy.

"Sure."

"Are Adam and Carlos together—like you two?"

"Yes, but that's a secret as well."

"Understood," Alicia answered.

"Tommy, I'll call you Wednesday or Thursday with the details. Hopefully you'll know if Rocky can come by then," David said.

Tommy nodded.

"Is Rocky single?" Alicia asked.

"Sure is . . . single and looking, as a matter of fact," Jason grinned.

_____________________________

Once the party wound down, Jason and Tommy took their leave, supposedly to stay with Billy. The other guys had been let in on the deception so they wouldn't ruin it. Of course, the red and gold rangers didn't tell their friends exactly _why_ they needed them to propagate the misinformation—just that they wanted to spend some time celebrating their birthdays—alone. Wasn't too hard to figure out . . .

Tommy and Jason teleported themselves to the Power Chamber and made their way toward the private quarters of the rangers, neither saying very much.

"Umm . . . nice party. Our folks did a good job," Jason said quietly.

"Yeah, they did. I think your parents did most of it, though."

"I don't know—Mom said that your parents helped."

They walked on a little further, down into the lower levels of the Chamber where the quarters were located. Neither said anything.

'_He seems so calm . . . how can he be so calm?!'_ Tommy thought.

Finally, he had to ask. "Bro, are you as nervous as I am?"

"Probably."

"That's good to know—at least it's not just me."

"It'll be okay—we'll find our way, bro," Jason said, clasping his hand and trying to reassure him, but the anxiety in his voice gave him away.

"Yeah, I think so too. I've just got a case of the nerves. I . . . I'll be okay."

When they reached Tommy's quarters, the red ranger pressed his hand to the sensor panel and spoke. "Tommy Oliver—Red Ranger."

"Identity confirmed—Tommy Oliver," the door said in response and slid open with an airy 'whoosh'.

His room was multi-coloured to reflect the three ranger colours that he had worn in his career. Luckily, the walls were mostly white with accents of green and red—otherwise it'd be too loud to sleep in there.

"I still think your room looks like Christmas, dude," Jason quipped. He dropped his bag on the floor and plopped on the bed.

"Haha . . . you're so funny," Tommy responded, monotone.

He went over to the stereo and put on a disc of some rock ballads that they liked—just as background music.

"This reminds me of our private party we had at your place after my party a couple of months ago. Didn't we dance together then?" Tommy asked.

"Sure did. We were both kinda bummed about not being able to dance together at the party, so we did a few turns in my bedroom. It was fun . . . and kinda hot," Jason said and winked.

"So come here and let's make it kinda hot again," Tommy said with a sly grin, holding out his hand in invitation.

The gold ranger quickly shed his shoes and socks and met his boyfriend in the middle of the floor. They slid into each other's arms, fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle. Jason nuzzled into Tommy's neck and began gently kissing the warm skin. That new choker necklace was getting in the way though.

"Bro, can you take this choker off? I can't get to your jugular," Jason whispered.

Tommy chuckled. "Are you becoming Count Jason again?"

The gold ranger pulled back and looked straight into Tommy's eyes, licking his lips provocatively. "Maybe. If you feel a sharp pain, just go with it . . ."

Tommy reached up and untied the knot in the leather strands that held the necklace on. He gently placed it on his dresser and turned back to Jason. "Okay, now where were you?"

His bro breathed onto his neck and said quietly, "Just about here." He then latched onto his baby's neck, determined to mark him as his own.

Tommy lifted the hem of Jason's shirt and revelled in the feel of his muscular back and soft skin. They moved to the music in a slow circle, becoming less and less aware of anything but each other.

It wasn't long before shirts were shed and they were left in only their jeans, hands drinking in the feel of warm skin and hard upper bodies.

"Still nervous?" Jason whispered.

"No, I'm just fine," Tommy cooed back.

This was familiar territory for them—holding, caressing, feeling each other—kissing and nibbling necks and ears—running fingers through thick hair. Nothing new and so nothing to be anxious about.

Tommy's hands slipped around to the front of Jason's jeans and started deftly working open the 5-button fly as his tongue expertly danced and writhed along with his lover's. Accomplishing their task, the red ranger's hands stole into his boyfriend's jeans and grasped the firm backside. Jason's hands were busy too—one entangled in Tommy's silky tresses and the other pinching and rubbing an increasing erect nipple.

"Mmmm . . ." the red ranger moaned into Jason's mouth—the rough stimulation fuelling his growing arousal.

Jason was being affected in much the same way. As Tommy held onto those round asscheeks and pulled his boyfriend firmly into his body, he could feel the hard ridge pressing into his groin. It was time for him to lose those jeans. Tommy moved his hands up to the waistband and started slowly pushing them down Jason's trim hips. Pulling free from his boyfriend momentarily, he worked the stonewashed denim down Jason's strong legs and removed them, leaving him in only grey athletic boxers. Before the red ranger stood, he knelt and rubbed his face up and down Jason's thighs and across the prominent bulge in his ever-tightening shorts. The gold ranger's hands remained caught up in Tommy's long hair as he enjoyed the caresses.

Finally standing, Tommy wasn't the least surprised when Jason immediately went to work on _his_ jeans.

"Silk, huh?" Jason quipped and grinned at his boyfriend when he had uncovered his boxers. "Red at that . . ."

"What other colour would I wear?"

"They're nice," he remarked, grasping and rubbing Tommy's tight ass.

"Mmmm . . . glad you approve," the red ranger cooed and smiled. "Wanna lay down?"

"Sure."

Moving across the small room, they climbed onto the comfortable double bed and lay on top of the comforter. In no time, they were in each other's arms with long legs intertwining.

Instinctively, their mouths came together in an intensifying kiss. Jason latched onto Tommy's lower lip, sucking and nibbling—Tommy's hands explored his boyfriend's well-defined chest. As his hands moved lower, Jason moaned quietly in anticipation.

As much as he was able to think, the gold ranger's mind kept flashing back to what he had learned from those websites and his ex-roomie Jacques. He was hoping that his nerve held—at the moment he was fine, but he was certain that he wouldn't remain that way when things got heavier. After all, _he_ was the virgin here. He knew Tommy was nervous—he'd already told him that. If the one with experience was apprehensive, then by all rights he should be a basket case.

'_At least he only has experience with women—we're almost even in that regard.'_

For his part, Tommy was trying not to think too far ahead. He knew what they were intending to do and he felt he was ready, but the idea of actually doing it was really scaring him.

'_What if I can't go through with it? What will Jase think? By comparison, losing my virginity to Gina was easy.'_

All of this thinking was going on during a lull—they were gently kissing each other and enjoying the feel of all that warm, naked skin. Jason was the one that next stoked the fire.

Pulling at Tommy's silk boxers, he looked up into his boyfriend's eyes for approval. Permission granted, the gold ranger eased the shorts down over Tommy's enticing, shapely ass and then down the slender hips. The sight of his erect manhood made Jason's breath catch in his throat—his mouth began to water. The red silk garment was cast aside quickly when an intense rush of desire overcame Jason.

Beginning at his knees, the gold ranger worked his way up his boyfriend's long, strong body—grasping and kneading, kissing and nibbling, licking and teasing—until he reached Tommy's panting, willing mouth. Stretching out on top of him, Jason plundered his love's mouth with his curious, probing tongue. Tommy groaned deeply into his mouth, the vibrations of which sent an electrical charge down his spine and into his groin.

Tommy's hands had been pulling at the waistband of Jason's shorts and he had managed to nearly uncover his boyfriend's ample, tight ass.

"Lose 'em," Tommy panted when Jason finally released his mouth.

As quickly as he could, Jason removed his athletic boxers and tossed them into the floor. He swiftly stretched out again beside the warm, willing body of his lover and they coiled around each other once more. Mouths sealed together, each thrust and writhed against the hard body that he held. A light sheen of sweat covered both young men as their passion burned higher and higher. Both moaned loudly, glad they didn't have to be quiet this time. There was no one at the Power Chamber but them, save for Alpha and Zordon, and even if they knew what their red and gold rangers were up to, they wouldn't disturb them.

Tommy reached down and firmly grasped his lover's rock hard shaft giving it a couple of firm strokes. He felt like the time was finally right.

"So . . . how do we do this?" he whispered in Jason's ear.

Jason's breath caught in his throat. "Mmm . . . umm . . . well, I guess we have to decide who's gonna be on top," Jason panted.

"What do you think?"

"You're the one with experience . . ." Jason answered.

"Not with men. You're the one that's been doing all the 'research' . . ."

"True," he said and pulled back to look into Tommy's eyes. "Do you want me to take you first? Is that okay?" Jason asked a bit nervously.

There was no clear-cut dominant or submissive partner—they were equals. Having no experience, neither knew whether he preferred one position or the other.

"Umm . . . well . . ." Tommy wasn't sure. In his limited experience, he had always been the dominant—even during his first time, his girlfriend had merely helped him along a bit and then lay back and let him take over. Nature and instinct kicked in pretty quickly. Could he now submit to Jason? Looking deeply into his lover's midnight eyes, he saw Jason's anxiety, but he also saw the trust and love that his boyfriend had for him. Tommy returned those feelings wholeheartedly. If there was anyone in the world that he needed, trusted, and loved—it was Jason.

He stroked his lover's cheek. "Okay . . ."

A smile slowly spread across Jason's face. He saw the trust and devotion in Tommy's eyes. He nodded.

"One more question, do you want to face me or not?" Jason asked.

"I'd rather see your face, but . . . which way would be better?"

"From what I've read, face to face requires more skill than I think I have right now. The other way is supposed to be easier, actually."

"Umm . . . okay. Want me to turn over?" Tommy asked.

Jason nodded and shifted over so that his boyfriend would be in the middle of the bed. He stroked and toyed with Tommy's mane for a couple of minutes and then moved on to caressing and massaging his muscular back.

"Mmmm . . . that feels good," Tommy cooed.

"It gets better," Jason replied provocatively. He was trying desperately to sound and act confident, though he didn't feel that way. As his large hands moved down to grasp his lover's round ass, his stomach knotted up.

'_Easy Jason—calm down. Nothing to get all nervous about . . . yet,'_ he told himself.

More pleasure-filled sounds were coming from Tommy, making his lover feel a little more self-assured.

'_I can do this. Instinct will take over . . .'_

His fingers began exploring his boyfriend's lower body, coaxing his legs open a bit further . . .

Tommy was lying there enjoying himself trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. As Jason explored lower, he made a concentrated effort not to jump or tense up, knowing that that sort of reaction would make things more difficult for his lover.

Jason gently placed his hand on the small of Tommy's back. "Tell me if anything I do makes you uncomfortable--or worse, if it hurts, okay?"

"Okay, I will. I'm sure it'll be fine, though. You won't hurt me . . ." Tommy responded quietly.

The gold ranger leaned in and placed several small kisses on his lower back, stroking his side lightly. Afterwards, he took the bottle of lube from his bag and applied it to a couple of fingers on his right hand. He took a deep breath.

'_Okay . . . here we go . . .'_

Jason's fingers slid down between his lover's firm cheeks, searching gently for that hidden opening. Tommy jumped slightly in spite of himself.

"Okay?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, sorry. Go ahead."

The gold ranger applied a little more lube and started again. He found the spot he had been seeking and rubbed it carefully, getting used to the sensation and allowing Tommy to do the same.

The red ranger gasped slightly at the touch, but Jason was being so gentle that he soon calmed himself.

"How does that feel?"

"A little strange, but not bad."

"Can I go further?" Jason nervously asked.

"Y-yeah . . . go ahead," Tommy replied in a whisper.

Jason slowly and gingerly began to probe further, causing another gasp from his lover. He continued though, feeling how hot and tight his boyfriend was.

After Tommy became accustomed to the sensation, he moaned slightly and relaxed a little more.

'_So far so good,'_ Jason thought. Then his mind changed gears a bit. He began to wonder how that narrow, clinging channel would feel around his cock. As he continued to fantasize, his hand fell into a gentle, steady rhythm, causing a deep, throaty moan from his lover.

"Okay?" Jason asked in a whisper. Tommy nodded slightly and groaned again.

The gold ranger cautiously added a second finger to his probing, preparing his boyfriend for what was to come. He was about to make sure that he wasn't hurting him when he was given irrefutable proof that he wasn't. Quite the opposite, actually.

"Ahhhh . . . Jaassssse," Tommy uttered in a deep, passionate moan.

Suddenly, the room went completely dark except for the flashing red light over the main doorway. A buzzing noise that sounded like a very annoying alarm clock could be heard--its volume gradually increasing. It was an alert.

The full volume of the klaxon that went off in the main control room was too much for the sleeping quarters. Down here it went off like a loud alarm clock to keep from frightening the rangers out of the skins.

The red and gold rangers jumped when they heard the alert.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Jason spat, annoyed.

He quickly but carefully withdrew his hand to allow Tommy to get up.

"I knew it'd been too quiet. I'm gonna personally disassemble Gasket for this . . ." the red ranger growled.

They quickly got out of bed and searched for their clothes.

"Light—on!" Tommy demanded and the room's central light fixture came on. They both squinted, trying to see even though their eyes hadn't adjusted yet. Neither of them could find their boxers, but did manage to locate jeans—each other's. Tommy pulled on the pants he had found and, for a split second, wondered why they were too big and too short.

"Damn!" he muttered and traded jeans with the gold ranger, pulling on the correct ones as quickly as he could.

"Guess we're 'going commando'," Jason quipped as neither could locate their underwear.

"Yep."

Tommy zipped his jeans, not bothering with the button and Jason fastened only 3 of the 5 buttons that made up his fly. Not fully dressed, but not indecent.

"Let's go," the ranger commander said, starting out the door.

They began to run up the long, twisting corridors leading to the main control room. Red lights were flashing and the alert signal was echoing in their ears. There was no teleporting within the Power Chamber—too much chance of materializing inside a bulkhead or something like that.

As they took a particularly sharp turn, Jason fell a couple of steps behind Tommy. They continued up the next long hallway in an all-out sprint. The gold ranger couldn't help but notice his boyfriend's long chestnut locks bouncing and dancing down his bare back as he ran.

'_Damn you, Gasket. You'll pay for this . . .'_ he thought.

In the control room, Rocky was just asking where the two leaders were when they came running in, panting.

"We're here—what's going on?" Tommy asked Billy and Alpha.

"Two very nasty-looking monsters are tearing up the downtown area," Billy started. "I'm working on diverting more power to the zords so that the lack of sunlight won't hamper you too much."

"Right," the red ranger said, understanding that the solar-powered zords wouldn't last long in a fight at this time of night.

As they waited for their resident genius to prep the huge machines, the rangers paced around the control room. Tommy and Jason stopped and leaned against a console, talking quietly to each other. Adam then looked up from the readout he'd been studying to notice the state they were in—bare-chested, barefooted, hair a bit mussed, and jeans partially undone. He found himself staring at their nearly open flies.

'_Damn . . . any lower and they'd be indecent . . . I know what they've been up to!'_ he thought as his mouth watered a bit. He found his hands aching to feel those muscular chests. He had to turn away.

Katherine gave them a bit of a disparaging look. "So what have you two been up to?"

Jason cut his eyes toward her. "Manipulating him into celebrating my birthday, what did ya think?"

Tommy chuckled and grinned. "Yeah, we had a tough time getting the ropes off my wrists to get here—that's why we were late."

A couple of giggles were heard—the rest gaped at Tommy and Jason, not knowing whether to believe them or not. For good measure, the red ranger rubbed his wrists and winced. Kat huffed and walked away.

"You asked for that, girlfriend," Rocky remarked with a grin when she met his eyes. He had grown accustomed to them making remarks like that. It didn't faze him anymore.

"Okay guys, the zords should be ready to go now," Billy announced.

"Are you sure? That was fast," Tommy remarked. It had been less than five minutes.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I've been working on this program for a while. I knew it was only a matter of time before it was needed," the former blue ranger stated.

With the usual morphing cries, the six of them transformed themselves and went off to fight this latest threat from the Machine Empire.

It was a long battle that utilized all the zords as well as hand to hand ground combat. It raged on for hours—Gasket was apparently attempting to overwhelm with sheer numbers as he must have sent every cog he had.

Once it was finally over, the rangers transported back to the Power Chamber and demorphed as per usual. Several of them had been injured in the fight—whatever the new weapon was that Gasket's foot soldiers were using had the ability to pierce the ranger armour. Rocky and Jason were the most seriously injured, each receiving nasty burns to their upper bodies—Rocky on his chest and Jason on his left bicep. The rest of the team had minor cuts, bruises, and burns but didn't require a lot of medical help.

The gold and blue rangers were immediately helped to the med bay where they were given pain medication and the burns treated by the advanced medical technology that was available there. Tommy was quite worried about Jason, even though he watched as the horrible burn was nearly healed in front of his eyes.

Standing on the right side of the bed, he assisted Billy in treating Jason and holding onto the gold ranger's hand for reassurance and support.

"Are you hurting, bro?" he anxiously asked his boyfriend.

Jason looked up at him through glassy, half-opened eyes and groaned an affirmative answer.

"Hold on Jase, I'm nearly finished," Billy remarked gently.

When the former blue ranger had completely treated the affected area, Tommy loosely wrapped Jason's bicep and gave him another shot of pain killer.

"You're not giving him too much, are you?" Billy asked.

"No, he needed more—he was still in a lot of pain. I don't think you gave him enough the first time."

"I'm going to check on Rocky—you obviously have everything under control here. Call me if you need me," Billy remarked and moved over to the other table where the blue ranger was being treated.

Tommy watched him for a second after that rather curt remark. _'What's his problem?'_

He stood wondering what was eating at Billy until a moan from the bed snapped him out of it.

"Tommy?" Jason managed to say in a low, gravelly voice.

The red ranger leaned in close. "Yeah baby?" He rubbed Jason's chest as he looked into his sleepy eyes.

"Sorry our plans got ruined," the gold ranger whispered.

"Oh . . . shhhh . . . it's okay. We got lots of time," Tommy replied and placed a soft kiss on his lover's lips.

Jason smiled slightly but then winced in pain. "Some birthday present . . ."

"I know, poor thing, but Billy said it'll heal quickly. Hopefully it won't leave much of a scar. Get some sleep, okay?"

Jason nodded and tried to relax. Before long, the medication and exhaustion caught up to him and he dozed off. Tommy stayed close by, while checking on the other injured members of his team.

Rocky was doing better, but was still in a lot of pain. Adam said that the blue ranger had told him that he felt like he was on fire before the pain killer kicked in. Burns are terribly painful. Tanya and Kat were holding his hands and talking gently to him in an attempt to soothe him.

Adam reached up and touched a smear of dried blood on the red ranger's bare chest.

"Are you cut or is that Jason's blood?"

Tommy looked down—if he was injured he hadn't noticed. "I don't know—it does sting, now that you mention it."

Adam got a cloth and some warm water and started to clean his commander's chest. There was a long, fairly deep cut under the smear and it started bleeding freely again when Adam rubbed it.

"Here, sit down," he said and guided Tommy into a chair. "Hold this against it—it's bleeding," he directed and pressed the warm cloth to the wound. He then went over to ask Billy what he should do.

After being instructed quickly in how to use the new equipment, Adam brought the hand-held instrument back over and prepared to treat Tommy. He removed the cloth and trained the beam on the cut, moving slowly across it. He frequently looked up at Tommy's face to make sure he wasn't hurting him.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt. Has the bleeding stopped?"

"For the most part. Just hold still for a few more minutes."

Once the wound was closed, Adam cleaned up the remaining blood with cotton and antiseptic and put a large bandage over the area.

"There you go—good as new," he smiled.

"Thanks, Adam. I didn't even know I was cut," Tommy said.

"You're welcome. How's Jason?"

"He'll be fine. The burn was hurting a bit, but he's sleeping well. I've kept an eye on him."

Two hours later, Jason had been moved down to Tommy's quarters by his boyfriend and Adam. He went back to sleep quickly with Tommy snuggled up beside him. Things hadn't gone the way they'd planned, but they were together and neither was badly injured—that was the important thing. Like Tommy had said, they had plenty of time.

________________________________

_Author's Notes: So the camping trip is next. Wonder what the boys will get up to out in the forest? Will poor Rocky find someone to keep him from being lonely? How will this new weapon of Gasket's affect how the rangers fight him? Stay tuned . . . _

_And please remember to review!! Even if you don't have an account, you can still review. I really do appreciate your feedback!_


	28. Into the Wilderness Part 1

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Still Rated 'M' for a reason! If you're underage or not comfortable with male/male relationships, hit that 'Back' button now!

This chapter was getting way too long, so I had to divide it up into two parts. It's a big ol' fluffy thing—enjoy!!

**Chapter 28—Into the Wilderness Part 1**

**(Tommy's POV)**

"Tommy! Phone!" I hear Dad call from downstairs.

"Okay, thanks," I shout in the direction of the stairs. "Hello?"

"Hey baby brother! How's it goin'?"

"David, hey! It's goin' pretty well. How's the lovely Alicia?"

"You tell me—you see her a lot more than I do!"

"True . . . but I see her in a completely different way than you do."

"Good, let's keep it that way," he jokes.

"No worries, bro—your squeeze is safe from me. I've got my hands full anyway." Not that she's not cute and very sweet but like I said, I've got my hands full with Jase. As a matter of fact, I wish I had my hands full _of_ Jase right now. Damn, I gotta stop my mind from wandering like that.

"Tommy?"

"Umm . . . sorry. What were you saying?"

He chuckles at me. "You gonna listen this time?"

"Yeah, sorry. I just zoned for a minute there."

"Let me guess which 'zone' you were in," he says, almost giggling. "By the way, how _is_ Jase?"

"Okay, okay . . . guilty as charged. Listen, could you call me back on my cell?"

"Hmm? Why?"

"More privacy."

"Oh . . . yeah sure, but I tried calling your cell before I called your house. Is your phone on?"

I pull my phone from my jeans pocket—dead as a doornail. I silently curse my leaky memory.

"Damn . . . needs charging. Let me plug it into the charger and it'll be okay."

"Alright. I'll call you right back."

Putting the cordless back on the cradle, I hook up my phone to the charger and wait for it to ring. I hate to have to do this, but me and David might end up talking about things that nosey mothers don't need to overhear. Answering the phone as it rings, we resume our conversation.

"Sorry about that, I just didn't want anything overheard."

"No problem. I understand. So back to my question, how is Jase? You guys doin' alright?"

"We're fine, but he got hurt Saturday night—he's just about healed now, though."

"What happened? Duty?"

"Yeah. First Gasket interrupts our birthday celebration and then Jase gets a bad burn on his arm from a new weapon that we don't know how to counteract." I go on to explain more fully what happened and how Jason and Rocky got the worst of it. Luckily, they're both doing much better now. Hardly any scars at all.

"Speaking of Rocky, is he coming this weekend?"

"Yeah, we talked him into it."

"Good. Alicia is anxious to find out if he's coming. I think she's hoping that he and her friend Anna will hit it off. One quick question though—he _is_ straight, isn't he?"

I have to laugh at that. "Yeah, Rocky's as straight as they come . . . unless he's seriously in denial."

"Okay, just making sure."

"By the way, Alicia's sure that this friend of hers is okay, right? I mean, we don't have to worry about her telling everyone at school, do we?"

"She's okay. Alicia talked to her and made sure."

"Good. So, what's the plan?"

"After school Friday, you guys pick up Alicia and Anna and head out here to the rez."

"Okay. Jase's gonna borrow his dad's SUV—it has lots of room for equipment. Adam is going to drive his jeep—he'll bring Rocky and Carlos with him."

"Cool. Those two plus my truck should be plenty of room for the tents, cooking equipment, sleeping bags and all the other stuff."

"Yeah—shouldn't be a problem. Listen David, we have to come up with a cover story." I had been trying to figure out a convincing excuse for a couple of days now and was coming up blank.

"Cover story? What do ya mean?"

"Well, there'll be four rangers and four non-rangers on this trip. Of the non-rangers, you're the only one who knows about us. I'd almost lay money on the possibility that there'll be an attack this weekend. We have to think up some excuse to give Carlos, Alicia, and . . . what was her name?"

"Anna."

"Yeah, Anna. We have to tell them something as to why four of us suddenly disappear."

"Hmmm . . . you're right. What excuse do you usually use?"

"Actually, it hasn't really come up much before. We generally haven't dated or hung out with non-rangers."

"I'll give it some thought and call you back when I come up with something."

"Okay and I'll keep trying to think something up as well."

"Tommy, let me change the subject for a minute. Are you still seeing the counsellor?"

"Ummm yeah, I am. I saw her today, as a matter of fact."

"How's that goin', bro?" He sounds concerned.

"Pretty good. I think the worst is over concerning that."

"Whatcha mean?"

"Well, we've already worked through a lot of stuff—the memories that have caused me such problems. It's still gonna take a while, but things are better now." Please drop the subject—don't make me think about that stuff any more than I have to. I hate to lie to him, but I'm so fucked up in the head it's gonna take a looong time to fix it all.

"Will you tell me about all of it one of these days? I'd really like to know what my brother has been through." You don't wanna know bro, trust me.

"One of these days . . ." Not anytime soon, though.

"Okay, I'll hold you to that," he says with a tone of sincerity. Thought you might.

"Listen, I've gotta go—got some work to finish for tomorrow. I'll talk to you again before Friday, okay?" he tells me.

"Alright. If I come up with any questions, I'll call."

I close my phone and lay back on the bed, thinking. If I tell David everything that's gone on with me since I was little, he'll have Mom and Dad's heads on a stick! Damn, that'd be an ugly scene. But ya know . . . they deserve it. This new 'hands off' approach of Mom's and them being nice to me . . . I don't buy it. I've even gotten to the point that I hate to call them "Mom and Dad" anymore. Maybe I _will_ let some things slip to David . . .

**(End Tommy's POV)**

"Geez, that's cold!" Jason exclaimed and jumped a bit.

"Sorry," Tommy said with a grin. He continued applying the cream to his boyfriend's burned bicep. "It's healing really well, though . . . and fast. Without the medical equipment we have at the Power Chamber, this would have taken weeks to heal."

"Yeah and it probably would have left a horrible scar. I wonder how Rocky's chest is looking."

"He says it's healing well." After a pause, he continued. "Speaking of Rocky . . . can I talk to you about something?"

Jason looked a little surprised. "Sure . . . what about Rocky?"

Tommy continued wrapping the bandage around the gold ranger's arm. "Well, it's like this—you know he hasn't been himself lately, right?"

Jason nodded. "You said that he's been feeling kinda left out."

"Yeah . . . and I think Alicia is going to try and play cupid this weekend with him and her friend Anna."

"Think he'll go along with it?"

"Yeah, if he likes her he will. But here's the thing," he paused again. He had been dreading to bring this up, but he couldn't put it off any longer. "Jase, I know you don't mean any harm, but could you lay off picking on him for a while? Especially on this trip . . ."

Jason looked questioningly at Tommy. "You don't mean he takes me seriously. Does my ribbing really upset him?"

"Sometimes it does, yeah."

"You're kidding. You know I don't mean anything by it. If I didn't like him, I wouldn't pick on him."

"I know Jase, but right now he's not up to dealing with it--he doesn't know you like me, Billy, and Zack do. And you know, he was pretty upset at the Halloween party after you insisted that he kiss me."

"That was a _game_, Tommy. Why would he get upset about that?"

"He just felt like you singled him out—probably because of his initial bad reaction to us being together."

"I can't believe this. You know me, I've always played around with my friends—picking at them and playing jokes. It's not malicious."

"I know. Just lay off for a while, okay? At least until he starts acting more like his old self," he said gently.

"Okay, I'll be good. I still can't believe he took things so personally though."

__________________________

Alicia and Anna walked down the hallway of the Science wing on Friday afternoon, talking excitedly about the upcoming camping trip.

"So we're riding with your boyfriend's brother and his friend, right?" Anna asked.

"Right—Tommy and Jason. Tommy's my lab partner in Chemistry."

"Are they cute?"

"Freakin' gorgeous is more like it, but they're . . . taken," Alicia said, holding off telling her about them for now.

"Damn."

"Rocky's going and he's single. Maybe you and he will hit it off."

"Maybe. We'll see."

As they exited the doors toward the parking lot, Alicia spotted the boys sitting on a bench talking. She nudged Anna.

"That's them. David's brother Tommy is the one with the long hair and the other one is his best friend Jason."

"Wow!" she said quietly. "Gorgeous is hardly the word. I've seen those guys in the halls—never had the nerve to talk to them, though."

Alicia smiled. "Told ya . . . but they're really nice. Come on, I'll introduce you."

The girls approached the bench as Jason and Tommy continued to talk, wrapped up in their conversation.

"Eh-hemm," Alicia cleared her throat to get their attention. They both looked up and smiled.

"Hey girl," Tommy said.

"Tommy, Jason—this is my friend Anastasia Federov. Anna, this is Tommy Oliver and Jason Scott."

Both young men stood up, towering over the petite blonde.

"Nice to meet you, Anna," Jason said smiling and extended his hand. Tommy did likewise.

"Yeah, ready for an interesting weekend?" Tommy asked with a big grin.

"Oh yeah—it should be a lot of fun. I love to camp," Anna answered.

"What a nice accent you have. I can't quite place it though," Jason remarked.

"With that name it has to be Russian—am I right?" Tommy guessed.

"Right first time—very good," Anna smiled.

"Let's get going. David's waiting," Alicia said, pulling Tommy toward the parking lot.

"Oh yes, let's not keep big brother waiting," he laughed.

They all piled into the Mustang and headed toward the Scotts' house to pick up the SUV and some of the equipment. Mrs. Scott promised to have the cooler ready with her contribution to the food supply and she was as good as her word.

Once that was accomplished, they went by the girls' houses to pick up their things and then met up at Adam's house to collect the other three members of the group.

Adam, Rocky, and Carlos were busy packing Adam's jeep when they arrived.

"Hey guys! Ready to go?" Jason asked brightly.

"Almost. Give us about ten minutes. Rocky, bring that cooler over here," Adam said.

As Rocky walked out of the garage he nearly dropped the load he was carrying when he saw the girls getting out of the big Suburban. He quickly put the cooler in the jeep and went over to Tommy.

"That's Alicia's friend, I take it. What's her name?" he whispered excitedly.

Tommy grinned at him. "Come over here and I'll introduce you."

He motioned to the other guys for them to come over.

"Anna, this is Adam Park, Carlos Vallerte, and Rocky DeSantos. Guys, this is Anastasia Federov," Tommy said by way of introduction.

"Nice to meet you all," she said in her lovely accent.

Adam nudged Rocky over toward the pretty newcomer.

"Go talk to her. We'll finish packing."

"What do I say?"

"Since when have you ever had trouble talking? Go!" Adam chuckled.

Rocky straightened his shirt and slowly moved toward the girls.

"Umm . . . hi. So . . . are you ladies ready to go?" he asked nervously.

"Oh yeah, we're very excited," Alicia answered.

"H-have you been camping before?" the blue ranger asked.

Anna nodded. "My family goes all the time. It's always a lot of fun."

"Yeah, my family too. There's so many of us that it's the only vacation we get," Rocky said.

"You have a big family?" Anna asked.

Rocky nodded. "Oh yeah—six kids, my parents, and my grandmother."

"Nice. There're four kids in my family. I'm used to a crowd."

Alicia stood by listening, very glad that they seemed to be getting along.

"Okay, wagons roll! Let's go everybody," Jason announced.

Tommy opened the passenger-side door and paused. "Rocky, why don't you ride with us? There's plenty of room," he smiled and looked at Alicia. She winked back. He had been watching Rocky and Anna chatting and was hoping they'd keep it up.

"Umm, sure. I guess that'd be okay," Rocky answered. He climbed in the back seat and Alicia nudged Anna to get in next so that she could sit next to him. Once they were all in, Jason and Tommy turned and looked around.

"Everybody settled?" Jason asked. They all nodded.

"About how far is it, Tommy?" Rocky asked.

"Well, it's an hour to the rez and David said the camping spot is an hour from there."

"Let's go! I haven't seen David since last weekend," Alicia smiled.

"Yeah, he's gonna be calling me wondering what I'm doing with his girlfriend. Let's go, Jase," Tommy quipped.

"Yes . . . we mustn't incur the Trueheart wrath!" Jason said, feigning fear.

They made their way up the highway to the rez with Jason in the lead and Adam following. Rocky and Anna continued to talk, with Alicia leaning up to chat with Jason and Tommy.

Arriving at the ranch, Anna nearly squealed when she saw the horses.

"Look at them all! They're beautiful!" she exclaimed. Alicia nodded.

Tommy turned around in his seat. "You a horse lover?"

"Oh yes! What kind are they?" she asked as they started to get out of the truck.

"Come over here and I'll show you," Tommy said, motioning toward the pasture fence. They walked over, with the red ranger discreetly pulling Rocky along with them.

Leaning on the fence, Tommy pointed out a beautiful mare about 20 feet away. "That's an Appaloosa—you can tell them by the spots on their hind quarters." He paused, smiled broadly, and then pointed to a large stallion coming toward them. "And this is called a Paint. They're both traditionally Native breeds."

The horse stuck his head over the fence, pushing Tommy back a couple of steps. The red ranger laughed.

"Hey there, Eaglefoot. How are you today?" he said while stroking the stallion's muzzle.

"Is he yours?" Anna asked.

Tommy chuckled. "He thinks he is. For some reason, he's become attached to me."

He continued to pet the big animal as Anna and Rocky talked. After a couple of minutes, he was lost in thought, absent-mindedly stroking Eaglefoot and staring off into space.

Jason approached him a few minutes later. "Tommy . . . Tommy . . . Earth to Tommy," he said, gently placing his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Hmmm?" he muttered, coming out of his daze.

Jason smiled. "Where were you just now?"

"I-I don't know. I was riding him bareback, but I'm not sure where," Tommy said, sounding confused.

"You okay, bro?" Jason asked, suddenly a bit concerned. He looked closely at Tommy's eyes.

Tommy shook his head as if to clear it. "Yeah. That was weird, though." He paused. "Are we ready to go?"

"Nearly. David's getting the rest of the food from the house. Come and speak to Sam before we go."

"Yeah."

He still looked a bit dazed and it worried Jason. He decided not to say anything now and just keep an eye on him.

"Bro! Hey man!" David called when he saw Tommy and Jason walking toward the house. He went out and hugged his brother tightly and shook hands with Jason.

"You two could almost be twins!" Anna said.

They both grinned. "No, he's my baby brother," David quipped.

"You ready to go, old man?" Tommy asked, smiling broadly.

"Almost."

Sam came out of the house just then and made a beeline for the red ranger.

"Tommy! How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said as he hugged his uncle. He then introduced him to everyone.

Once they had talked for a few minutes, everyone piled into their respective vehicles—Alicia with David in his truck, Carlos with Adam in the jeep, and Tommy, Rocky, and Anna with Jason in the SUV—and headed toward David's favourite camping spot.

A few minutes into the trip, Tommy suddenly turned to Jason.

"Did David remember the guns?"

"Umm . . . I don't know. I didn't see him put them in his truck, but he could have done it before we got there," Jason answered.

"Guns?!" Anna asked, seeming a bit worried.

"Oh, just hunting rifles. He takes them in case of wild animals and then he only scares them off. He doesn't kill anything if he can help it," Tommy responded. He turned back to his boyfriend. "I'd better call him to find out before we get too far from the house."

Pulling out his cell, he hit the speed dial number for his brother's cell phone.

"Yeah bro?"

"David—did you remember the rifles?" Tommy asked.

"Rifles? Yeah, sure did," David answered.

Tommy could hear Alicia in the background asking why they needed guns, much like Anna had. David told her that he'd explain in a minute.

"Good. Just wanted to make sure."

They hung up having accomplished their goal—planting the seed in the girls' minds. Then Tommy's phone rang—it was Adam. He was checking in to make sure they had remembered everything as there was a grocery store coming up soon.

"Yeah, I think we've got everything. Alicia's mom, Jase's mom, Rocky's mom, plus Sam all contributed to the food supply—we should be pretty well set. And Adam, before you ask, yes—David remembered the rifles."

It took him a second, but what Tommy was getting at finally dawned on him.

"Oh yeah . . . the rifles. Good, I'm glad he remembered them. Wouldn't wanna go up in the mountains without 'em," he stated, successfully raising Carlos' curiosity. Once he hung up, he explained to his boyfriend about the necessity of protection from wildlife, planting the seed in Carlos' mind as well.

Tommy and Adam hadn't planned that call, but it worked out well that it happened. All this talk about wild animals and guns were part of the rangers' plans to explain their sudden absence should there be an alert. The details had been worked out with David who knew their secret identities anyway. It was Carlos, Alicia, and Anna that had to be convinced.

"I'm glad the weather is supposed to be nice this weekend," Jason said to Tommy.

No response.

"Nothing like cold rain on a camping trip."

Still no response.

Jason leaned over a bit and saw that his bro was staring off into space again.

"Tommy?" he said and touched his arm.

"Wha—hmm?"

"You were off in a daze again. What's got you so preoccupied?"

"I don't know, Jase. I just got a strange feeling back at the ranch that I can't shake," Tommy said in a low voice so that only his boyfriend could hear.

"What kind of weird feeling?" Jason knew better than to discount or ignore such things.

"Odd memories—kind of like déjà vu." He realized that Rocky and Anna were probably listening. "I'll tell you about it later—probably nothing."

The hour went by very quickly. Before they knew it, David was slowing down to turn off of the main road and onto a dirt trail that led up to the camping spot that he had picked out. It took about 15 minutes of slow going, but they finally reached a nice clearing near a small, clear lake. There were evergreen trees all around and a soft blanket of pine needles underfoot. It was a beautiful spot.

They all piled out of their vehicles and stretched. The temperature was typical for that time of year—you needed a sweater or sweatshirt during the day and a jacket after sundown. Not terribly cold, but not shorts weather either.

Everyone wandered around for a few minutes, getting the lay of the land. Tommy and Jason, of course, hung right together, just on the verge of some public affection—or so it seemed to Alicia. She had yet to see them act like a couple, other than putting their arms around each other when they told her of their relationship. She was actually pretty intrigued—she had imagined them in an embrace, softly kissing each other—she wanted to see it, though she thought she would never be able to tell David that.

As they stood close together, Jason reached over and put his hand on Tommy's back, rubbing small circles and talking quietly to him. Alicia looked over at Anna to see if she was watching them . . . or Carlos and Adam who were doing close to the same thing. Anna was actually standing facing the lake, taking in the gorgeous scenery. Alicia thought she'd better tell her now before she got the daylights shocked out of her.

Walking over to join her, she said, "Hey Anna, come over here for a minute." She motioned to a big rock nearby. "Let's let the men unload the heavy stuff—I wanna talk to you for a minute."

"Okay, sure," she said and joined Alicia.

"So what do you think about Rocky?"

"Oh, he's a real sweetie. Very funny."

"You two find something to talk about?"

"Yeah, he's easy to talk to . . . now that he's calmed down, that is." She smiled.

"Was he that nervous around you? Isn't that cute . . ."

"Yeah, once it was just me and him in the back seat he got all shaky and nervous. He finally calmed down though."

"What do you think of the other guys?"

"Oh, they're all nice . . . and every one of them is hot! David is a doll—how did you meet him?"

"Tommy introduced me to him—we just sort of hit it off," she said with a warm smile.

"Well this is going to be an interesting weekend," she grinned broadly. "Too bad they're all taken."

"That's one thing I wanted to talk to you about. You remember me asking you how you felt about same-sex couples, right?" She looked her right in the eyes.

"No . . . you're kidding me. Who?!" Anna asked, her eyes suddenly wide.

"Adam and Carlos . . ." she started as they watched the guys working.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah . . . and ummm . . . Jason and Tommy," Alicia added.

Anna's jaw dropped. "No way . . . you're full of it. Them?! No way . . ."

"Yes way . . . does that bother you?"

"Yeah it bothers me! What a waste! I mean they're all cute but Jason and Tommy are . . . luscious!"

"I know, but they're seriously head over heels in love with each other, according to David. They've been best friends for years, but it's recently grown into more."

"How does David feel about it?"

"Well, he said he was pretty surprised when he found out, but as long as his brother's happy . . . that's all that matters to him--and he _is_ happy. David says they make a great couple. Now listen, this isn't common knowledge—you've gotta promise not to tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay, I won't—promise. I don't think anyone would believe me anyway. Think they'll act like a couple in front of us? Any of them?"

"Oh yeah . . . that's why I wanted to go ahead and tell you. They can't keep their hands off each other, I hear. I didn't want you to be too shocked."

"Glad you did. I probably would've embarrassed myself if you hadn't. Thanks for the heads up," she grinned. "But seriously, I'm okay with it like I told you before. It's none of my business what they do. But damn . . . it would be the gorgeous ones—all four of them," she said as she watched them work.

Alicia grinned back. "You're welcome for the warning. Now, let's go help the poor boys before they make a mess."

Having unloaded the last of the gear, they all sat down for a few minutes to rest.

"So how are we gonna arrange the tents?" Rocky asked.

"Well, I usually put the fire pit over there," David said pointing to the middle of the clearing. "We can arrange the tents in a circle around the fire, how about that?"

"Leaving enough space between them, of course," Jason said.

"Of course," David said and grinned at his brother and Jason. The others grinned as well.

"You and I are bunking together, right?" Rocky asked David.

"That's the plan."

"I think our tent should be fairly close to the girls' tent—just for safety reasons," Rocky suggested.

Adam giggled. "Actually, I think they'd be safer with us," he said, indicating he, Carlos, Tommy, and Jason.

"Why do you say that?" Rocky asked, puzzled.

"'Cause we're not on the make," Adam responded with a big grin.

"No thanks, guys. No offense, but we really don't wanna listen to you make out all night long!" Alicia said, barely holding back a giggle.

Adam and Carlos' faces nearly fell off. Tommy and Jason just laughed.

"Yeah, they know," Tommy said to Adam.

Adam gave his commander a 'what possessed you to tell them' look and then did the same in Jason's direction.

"What? You didn't think you'd be able to hide it, did you?" Tommy responded, still laughing.

"Yeah, the way you guys look at each other all the time . . . and you can't keep your hands off each other . . . the girls wouldn't need gaydar to pick up on that!" Jason said with his trademark smirk.

Carlos and Adam were as red as Tommy's shirt. "Okay, okay . . . but just so you know," Adam said in the direction of the girls, "we're not gay—we're bi—and so are Tommy and Jason. Who, by the way, have no room to be talking about not being able to keep their hands off each other."

"Bi, huh? That just means that you can't make up your mind," Alicia said kiddingly. David burst out laughing.

"No, it means that we can show _anybody_ a good time!! Care to try me?!" Jason said with his arms open.

Tommy backhanded his leg. "Behave, will ya?"

Alicia looped her arm through one of David's. "No thanks, I'm very happy over here."

Rocky had been sitting there quietly alongside Anna. He was a little surprised at how outgoing Alicia was, but he was more interested in how far Jason would go with it. Comments like that were usually the kind that really got him going.

It did.

Jason leaned over and wrapped his arms around Tommy's waist. "Oh come on ladies—are you sure you don't wanna watch?! We promise to put on a good show for ya," he grinned wickedly. Tommy shook his head and chuckled.

"I'll just bet you would," Anna said. "You wanna watch, Alicia?"

"Sure . . . go for it," she said and both girls leaned forward with elbows on their knees, grinning madly, waiting to see if Jason and Tommy would bite. Little did they know how much of an exhibitionist Jason was.

Before Tommy knew what was happening, Jason had grabbed him up in a tight embrace and buried his face in his neck. Tommy squirmed and laughed, trying to push his boyfriend off him. He wasn't trying too hard, though. His head was thrown back and he had a big smile on his face. His hair swung freely behind him as he played at struggling.

"Stop Jase! Quit!" he protested, but he was giggling the whole time.

Unfortunately, one of Tommy's attempts at removing the gold ranger from his neck resulted in his hand connecting roughly with Jason's burned bicep.

"Ow! Damn!" Jason exclaimed and hissed loudly, letting go of Tommy to grab his arm.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry! Here, let me see," Tommy said, gently holding his boyfriend's arm.

"No, it's okay," he said, gingerly rubbing his left bicep.

"No, it's not okay. Let me see," Tommy insisted.

Jason could tell how bad his bro felt for hurting him, even though it was a total accident. He unbuttoned his shirt and Tommy helped him slip it off his arm. He removed the bandage from his best friend's arm and looked at the nearly-healed burn.

"Oh my goodness Jason, what happened to your arm?" Alicia asked, both she and Anna coming over to help. They both wondered what would make a big, strong guy like Jason yelp like that.

Jason and Tommy exchanged a quick look.

"I . . . um . . . burned it helping my dad work on an engine. It's almost healed, just still a little sore," he said, making up a lie very quickly.

"I'm gonna put some more ointment on it—hold on," Tommy said and went over to grab Jason's bag.

Anna knelt down and patted Jason's leg. "Does it hurt?"

"It's stinging pretty good right now, yeah. That ointment will numb it some though," Jason answered with as much of a smile as he could muster.

The girls felt bad for him, but still couldn't help gaping at his bare arm and chest. Anna gave her friend a discreet 'what a body!' look that any girl would understand.

Tommy came back over and gently worked the ointment onto the wound, taking care not to make things worse. Jason put his hand on Tommy's shoulder to reassure him that he knew he hadn't meant to hurt him. Anna and Alicia had moved back but still watched in amazement at how tender these two could be with each other after the rough play of moments ago. It was like someone had flipped a switch.

Tommy rebandaged Jason's arm and helped him with his shirt. The others had gone on about their business setting up the camp and letting Tommy care for Jason. When he was done, he looked at Jason with big eyes.

"I'm sorry bro."

"It's okay, you didn't mean to," Jason said and gave him a soft kiss.

Tommy returned the kiss eagerly and gently stroked his arm. "You rest, I'll set up our tent."

Jason nodded, but had no intention of letting his boyfriend do all the work. He gathered their backpacks and sleeping bags while Tommy did the heavier work.

Alicia and Anna had seen the tender exchange between the boys and had shared a silent "Awwww."

"If you're through cooing over the sweethearts over there, we could use some help," David said to the girls in mock irritation.

"Oh keep your shirt on, we're coming," she playfully snapped back. "You're just jealous 'cause your brother's gotten a kiss and you haven't." She stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend.

"I can think of a better use for that tongue, young lady," David said, grabbing up the laughing brunette and holding her tightly to his body.

"Oh really? Do tell, big man," she shot back, not bothering to struggle.

David leaned in and kissed her soundly, effectively shutting her up.

Tommy watched with great interest, a big smile on his face. He had never seen his brother with a girl before—actually kissing her—it was kinda cool. He grinned at Jason who returned the look.

"They're cute together, aren't they?" Jason said.

"Yeah, they are. I'm glad he's happy. Now, let's get our home away from home set up."

Adam and Carlos had nearly finished their little portable abode—not too far from Tommy and Jason's space, but back a little ways to afford them all some privacy.

"Need some help, Tommy?" Adam asked, noticing that Jason was having to do everything one-handed.

"Sure, thanks."

With Adam's help, Jason and Tommy got their little piece of the campsite set up. It would be getting dark soon, so they busied themselves with making a fire, gathering a supply of wood, and securing the food supply.

David was handling setting up the fire pit when the guys returned with the extra wood.

"So, you gonna show us how a great Native woodsman makes a fire?" Rocky asked, smiling.

David looked at him and considered it for a moment. "Okay, sure. I'll show you some tricks."

He looked over and met his brother's gaze--they exchanged a knowing look. Tommy nudged Jason and gave him a wink—they sat down together to watch.

"Well, I'm sure you know about how deep to dig, right?" David began.

They nodded.

Carlos pitched in and helped finish the digging while Rocky and Adam stacked the wood.

"Okay, so you arrange the kindling like this and the bigger logs like this," he explained while showing his 'students'. "Now, the most important element is a little Native know-how—magic, I guess you could call it."

He stepped over to his supply box and took out a small, square container. Holding it up, but obscuring most of it with his large hand, he continued. "This is something that no Papago man I know would ever go into the mountains without. For generations, our people have relied on this, or something very similar, to make sure we always have fire to cook our food and keep us warm."

He was really being dramatic and holding the full attention of everyone around him. Tommy sat grinning beside Jason who was just as rapt as the others. It seemed that David had picked up some storytelling pointers from Sam. The red ranger wasn't gonna ruin it for his big brother.

David got up and walked around the fire pit slowly a couple of times and gazed up into the sky. All those drama classes in high school had really paid off. He picked up the container of lighter fluid and poured some onto the wood. He then turned his back on the assembled company and emptied the box into his hand, tossing the outer container aside. When he turned around again, they could see a bright flame seeming to sit in the palm of his hand. Then he, with a grand flourish, threw it onto the prepared wood causing it to ignite into a red-orange blaze. The boys stepped back a little and just stared for a moment. Jason even looked over at Tommy with a bit of amazement on his face. Tommy was trying so hard not to burst out laughing. David looked at him and grinned broadly.

"Show 'em your 'magic', bro!" Tommy managed to say between giggles.

David opened his hand to reveal a box of ordinary matches. They all looked at him questioningly.

"The 'magic' is the waterproof container so that they don't get wet!" He stooped over and grabbed the outer container that he had cast aside earlier. He stood there grinning at them all with the matches and plastic box in his hands.

"Awww man! You dog!" Rocky exclaimed.

"Damn, you had me goin'," Adam laughed.

"Me too!" Carlos added.

Tommy couldn't stand it any longer and he finally burst out laughing, falling over onto his side. Jason, Alicia, and Anna were laughing too.

"Nice one, bro," Tommy giggled and looked at his gullible friends. "You really had 'em goin'! The only thing you left out was the fire chant!"

David, still chuckling, put the matches back in their 'magic' box and threw them into the supply box. "Sorry guys, I couldn't resist! Now, I'd say that's enough screwin' around. I'm hungry—let's have dinner," Tommy's big brother said.

"I'll second that," Jason added.

Everyone agreed. It had been a long time since lunch. They all pitched in and got together a nice dinner made up of various dishes from various mothers. Sitting around the fire, they all talked excitedly about what they were going to do on this trip, especially the hike planned for the next day.

Once dinner was done, they all decided that the perfect dessert would be 'smores.

"You have to make 'smores at least once on every camping trip. It's like a law or something, isn't it?" Jason said.

"If it's not, it should be!" Rocky added.

Getting out the crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, Adam and Tommy instructed their partners to find some proper marshmallow roasting sticks.

"How do you make 'smores, anyway?" Carlos asked.

Adam looked at him like he had three heads. "You mean you've _never_ made them?"

"No."

"How is that even possible?"

"Dunno. Never really been camping before either," Carlos answered.

"Don't feel bad. I don't know how to make them either," Anna spoke up.

"You're kiddin'," Rocky said.

"No. Will you show me?" she asked the blue ranger.

Rocky grinned. "I'll be glad to. First we gotta find a couple of decent sticks." With that, they strolled a little ways into the woods, chatting happily.

"Don't go too far, kids," David called after them.

Eventually, all the couples except for Tommy and Jason had gone off searching for their own marshmallow roasters. Jason moved over beside Tommy who was closing up one of their food boxes. He slipped his arms around his boyfriend's waist and warmly kissed the back of his neck.

"I thought they'd never leave," Jason joked.

Tommy chuckled. "They'll be right back, Mr. Eveready."

"I know, but I'll bet I've got time to tickle your tonsils with my tongue before they get back," he said with a grin.

"Probably. Shall we find out?" Tommy turned in Jason's arms and wrapped him up in a warm embrace. Their mouths came together quickly and they wasted no time, kissing hungrily and deeply. Each moaned softly into the other's mouth, hands grasping and massaging backs and shoulders.

Alicia came out of the woods behind the tents a little ahead of David and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the red and gold rangers in a passionate tangle.

'_Whoa . . .'_ she thought as she watched for a couple of seconds. She turned to find that David still hadn't caught up. She stood and silently watched.

'_Damn . . . they're so hot together! Look at that . . .'_ she thought and absent-mindedly bit her lower lip.

"Hey, what's goin- . . ." David began before being shushed by his girlfriend.

"Shh . . . give 'em a minute," she said and grinned up at him.

He rolled his eyes, but grinned and went along with it.

"You know, I could stand some of that kind of attention," David said and lifted his eyebrows.

Alicia giggled and before long, they were entangled in much the same way. Anna and Rocky made their way back to the campsite to find two couples demonstrating some serious public affection. They both grinned and looked at each other, not sure what to say or do. Eventually, Rocky cleared his throat loudly and they separated—David and Alicia nearly jumped out of their skins, but Tommy and Jason were more committed. Tommy waved his arm in Rocky's direction as if to say 'screw you--leave us alone', but they did slow down a bit. They finally pulled their mouths from each other and just continued to stand there entwined. They both turned and grinned at Rocky and Anna and then saw David and Alicia looking guilty.

"Did they catch you two as well?" Tommy asked David.

"Yep—afraid so."

Jason couldn't resist pulling his hot boyfriend into just one more wet kiss.

"They're insatiable—don't let it bother you," Rocky said to Anna with a grin.

"Oh, it doesn't—I don't mind at all. In fact, I think it's sweet."

"If you say so," Rocky answered and chuckled a bit.

"Hey, where's Adam and Carlos?" Tommy asked.

No one knew.

"Probably off in the woods doing what you were just doing. Everybody's not as public as you two are," Rocky quipped.

"Hey, we were alone when we started," Jason retorted.

The missing couple finally emerged from the woods, looking a bit sheepish.

"Where you been, guys?" Jason asked with a big grin.

"Oh . . . just looking for some sticks," Adam said.

"The woods are full of 'em, huh?" David said.

"Oh shut up," Adam replied with a grin and sat in the folding chair that was beside Carlos.

All gathered around the fire once more, the newbies were instructed in the fine art of 'smore-making by their experienced partners.

While David sat on the ground toasting the marshmallows, Alicia sat behind him and braided his long, dark hair.

"Having fun over there?" Tommy quipped.

Alicia smiled. "Oh yeah, I love playing with his hair." David chuckled, still working on the 'smores.

"You wanna have fun, you need to get your hands in this stuff," Jason joked, stroking Tommy's mane.

"I'd love to . . . Tommy, would you mind?" she asked, grinning.

Tommy glanced over at his brother. "Umm, I guess not—if David doesn't care."

"No, I don't mind. Go play with little brother's hair for a few minutes," David responded with a laugh.

"When I finish yours," Alicia responded.

Anna and Rocky were getting kinda messy, but nonetheless enjoying themselves. The blue ranger was a 1st class 'smore-maker, having had years of practice. When he had put the first one together, he held it over for Anna to take a bite.

"Mmmm . . . that's good!" she said.

Rocky finished off the rest of that one, getting a bit of melted chocolate on his chin. The pretty blonde reached over with a finger and wiped it off and then licked her finger clean. That seriously caught Rocky off guard. He simply gazed at her for a second and then smiled.

"Want another one?" he asked softly.

"Mmm-hmm," Anna answered sweetly.

On the other side of the fire, Carlos was having trouble. Every time he would try to toast a marshmallow, it would almost instantly turn into a cinder. It wasn't helping that Adam kept laughing at him.

"Fine—show me how," Carlos said getting a touch frustrated.

"I think I'd better before we run out of marshmallows," the green ranger giggled. He expertly put together one of the delicacies and fed it to Carlos who grinned and kissed him.

"Now your turn," Adam said and guided his boyfriend through the assembly procedure. When it was done, they shared it and then kissed again. They were really enjoying being able to act like a couple for a change.

"Awww, aren't they sweet?" Jason kidded and nudged Tommy. The red ranger looked up at them and grinned.

"Yeah, they are. Now eat your marshmallow and shut up," Tommy said while cramming a perfectly toasted bit of fluff into his boyfriend's mouth. He responded by grinning and pressing his sticky lips hard into Tommy's and holding him in place. It eventually turned into a real kiss.

Once they parted, David couldn't help but make an observation. "You guys aren't shy, are ya? I didn't know you were quite so . . . open."

"You mean 'out'," Adam snickered.

Tommy looked at his brother. "Does it bother you?" he asked sincerely.

"No . . . no, it doesn't. I guess I just haven't been around you two when you weren't having to look over your shoulder."

"Yeah. We don't have the freedom you do," Jason stated.

"What do you mean?" Alicia asked.

"Well, when you and David are together in public do you think twice about holding his hand, putting your arm around him, or stealing a kiss at a red light—stuff like that?" Tommy asked.

"No, I guess not," she answered.

David understood. "They can't do that—not without taking a serious risk. Angel Grove isn't exactly the kind of place that would be accepting of them."

"Exactly," Jason said with a serious tone to his voice.

Alicia nodded slowly. "You're right. Well, enjoy yourselves out here. None of us are the slightest bit offended, right?" she asked, looking around at everyone.

They all agreed.

"Thanks guys," Tommy said quietly.

"Yeah . . . thanks," Jason echoed.

"We appreciate that too," Adam said from his place beside Carlos.

They all smiled.

Alicia got up and came over to Tommy. "Now, let me at that hair. It'll be easier to deal with out here in the rough if it's braided."

Tommy smiled and got up to let her sit in his chair and he took a seat on the ground in front of her. She began brushing and playing with all that thick hair, noticing how it laid like a blanket on his back, covering at least half of it.

"Wow, you've got a lot of it!" she observed. "Have you always had long hair?"

"Pretty much. Since I was 10 or 11, anyway. That's when I came to the conclusion that I was Native, so I decided I wanted long hair. That and all the guys at my karate school wore their hair long, so . . ."

"Wait . . . what do you mean you came to the conclusion that you were Native? You didn't know? I mean . . ." Anna asked, indicating Tommy's brother.

"Him? I only met him over the summer," Tommy responded.

Not wanting to leave her with the obvious and understandable confusion that was evident on her face, David explained the basics of his and Tommy's relationship.

Alicia continued to brush and stroke the red ranger's mane. He just sat there enjoying himself and even swaying a bit.

"You better go ahead and braid his hair if you're going to—you're putting him to sleep," Jason said with a grin.

Tommy giggled. "He's right. I'm really getting sleepy."

That seemed to be the general consensus. Everyone was beginning to yawn so it was time to call it a night. Alicia quickly put Tommy's hair into a thick braid and then went back over to David to get her goodnight kiss.

While David and Alicia and Rocky and Anna said goodnight, Adam and Carlos and Tommy and Jason climbed into their respective tents. The red and gold rangers quickly made themselves at home—this was nothing new for them. They undressed and climbed between the covers—no separate sleeping bags for those two. In no time at all they were snuggled up together.

Over in the other tent, things weren't going as smoothly. Carlos and Adam had never been to a group sleepover together or spent the night at each other's houses. It was a little uncomfortable. They got into their sleep clothes without too much of an issue—it was so dark that neither felt self-conscious. Climbing into their sleeping bags went okay. But as soon as they were settled, things got a little quiet. Lying there side by side facing each other, they couldn't think of a thing to say. Finally, Carlos broke the silence.

"Are you warm enough?"

"Umm, yeah. You?"

"Mm-hmm. Sure is dark out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah . . . and quiet too."

"Yeah."

They lay there for a bit longer without saying anything else.

'_This is silly. We're acting like two virgins on our wedding night . . . well, it's not our wedding night, but we _are_ virgins . . . I guess. I am, but is he? I've never asked him that . . .'_ Adam thought.

'_Why am I so nervous? Is he feeling the same way? He must be, he's not saying anything. Why won't he touch me? This is silly . . .'_ thought Carlos.

"I guess we're both a little nervous, huh?" Adam said finally.

"Umm . . . yeah. I'm not sure why though. I mean, we're sleeping in the same tent. Big deal."

"Yeah," Adam chuckled. "It's kinda silly."

"So why are we so uptight?" Carlos asked.

Just about then, the sound of muffled moans from the nearby tent met their ears. They both grinned.

"Doesn't sound like Tommy and Jason are having the same problem," Adam said with a chuckle.

"Nope—didn't really expect 'em to," Carlos said and then paused. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"How long have they been together?"

"Tommy and Jason? A couple of months now—ever since Tommy was in the hospital."

"Is that all? They act like they've been together for years."

"They've been friends for years, but they only admitted their feelings for each other when Tommy was so badly hurt."

"Took something like that to happen, huh? Glad we're not so hardheaded," Carlos commented.

"Well, it's not exactly the same. I think each of them was afraid to risk losing their best friend."

"Yeah, true. If their relationship goes south, they'll never be able to go back to being best friends."

"Yep," Adam started but was interrupted by more passionate sounds from 'next door'—louder this time. He grinned again. "I don't think that's going to be a problem, though. Sounds like they're doing fine."

"Maybe we need to make some noise of our own to drown them out," Carlos suggested.

"Sounds like a great idea," Adam replied.

The ice was broken at last. With a slightly shaky hand, he reached over and ran his fingers through Carlos' thick, black hair. He felt a hand touch his chest through his shirt—then that hand began to rub and caress, feeling his shoulders, pecs, and arms.

"Mmmm," Adam softly groaned, loving the feeling of Carlos' touch.

Placing his hand behind his boyfriend's neck, Adam pulled him closer, capturing his mouth in a warm, tender kiss. It was eagerly returned. Soon they were wrapped in each other's arms, hungrily kissing until they were breathless. The barrier of the sleeping bags was quickly becoming a serious irritant. It was too cold to lie on top of them, though. Deciding to unzip them and use them as blankets, Adam and Carlos then found themselves lying together, almost touching, only separated by t-shirts, sleep pants, and a little warm air. This was definitely new.

Breathing deeply to steady his nerves, Carlos ran his hand down Adam's back and pulled him closer. His boyfriend didn't resist. At last they were touching, chests to feet, every part of them taking in the sensation of lying with a desirable, warm body. Hands began roaming free, finding their way under shirts, as their mouths were busy kissing, nibbling, and suckling. Now Jason and Tommy weren't the only ones making noise. The green ranger and his handsome Carlos were doing pretty well themselves. They were thoroughly enjoying exploring each other's bodies, tasting each other, and learning what made the other shiver and moan.

_____________________________

_Author's Notes: Tune in next time to see what other mischief the eight of them get into out in the wilderness!!_

_An explanation of Papago: That is the common name of the Tohono O'Odham nation of Native Americans. I read somewhere that this is the nation that Jason David Frank's father is descended from. I have no verification of this, but for purposes of this story, that's the nation that Tommy, David, and Sam are part of._

_I would very much like to recommend some other wonderful Ranger fan fiction stories that I'm currently enjoying. Check 'em out and please don't forget to review!!_

"_Joy of Love" by JasonLeeScottFan_

"_Family Stands" by prophet144_

"_Courage Is" by SoftballStar13_

"_Lost and Found" by Chylea3784_

"_Change It Back" by potterfan36041_

_If I forgot any, I'll post them at the end of the next chapter. Oh . . . and please don't forget to review!_


	29. Into the Wilderness Part 2

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter!

**Chapter 28—Into the Wilderness Part 2**

The first rays of daylight filtered through the windows of the tent, rousing David from his dream. He turned over and saw Rocky sleeping peacefully nearby.

'_Good. He doesn't snore.'_

Sitting up and stretching, he decided it was time to get up and get the fire going again. Fire meant warmth . . . and coffee. He _really_ needed some coffee.

"Rocky . . . Rocky, wake up," David said as he gently shook the blue ranger.

"Hmmm? Oh . . . okay," he muttered and yawned. "What time is it?"

"Time to get some coffee started," David grumbled sleepily and left the tent.

"Not a morning person, I see. Must run in the family," Rocky replied.

He got up, dressed, and joined David outside.

"Let's get breakfast started and surprise the ladies, okay?" Tommy's brother said.

'_Maybe he's not such a grouch after all.'_ Rocky thought that maybe he'd misjudged him. "Yeah, that sounds good."

He watched as David quietly walked over to the girls' tent and peeked in the window. He smiled broadly.

"What are you doin'?" Rocky asked, surprised.

"Just checkin' on 'em," David reassured him. "What did ya think?"

He shook his head. "Nothin'."

David just gave Rocky a look and went to get out the coffee pot and the frying pan. "Work on getting that fire built up, okay?"

"Right."

The voices and the sound of pots and pans rattling around woke Jason, who was having a nice dream about the man he had his arm around. They had stayed up pretty late, taking turns making each other's toes curl. There was only so much they felt comfortable doing, considering there were so many people close by and tents didn't lock. However, they still managed to wear each other out pretty thoroughly.

Jason slowly pulled away from his boyfriend's peacefully sleeping form. Tommy shifted slightly, but didn't wake. The gold ranger decided to let him sleep for a while—he dressed quietly and slipped outside to answer the call of nature and then help with whatever the pot-rattling was about.

"Mornin' Jase," Rocky called from his place beside the fire pit.

Jason looked up and sleepily waved. _'He's too cheerful—it's the buttcrack of dawn.'_ He wandered off into the woods a little ways to take care of business.

The others were beginning to wake—aided by all the noise David and Rocky were trying not to make. Anna and Alicia were awake inside their tent, but refused to come out right away. Neither wanted to face the men looking all dishevelled, so they took a few minutes to primp before venturing out.

Jason had peeked in on Tommy once again and called his name a couple of times, but he had looked so adorable and peaceful, Jason didn't have the heart to startle him awake.

Adam and Carlos slowly ventured out, yawning and stretching.

"Mornin' guys," Jason said with a grin and a look that said 'I know what you two were up to last night'.

"Mornin' Jase," Adam said and gave him the same look right back.

The smell of coffee, eggs, and bacon was beginning to fill the air as Chef David worked his magic over the campfire. Rocky and Jason were helping out with the cooking while the others pulled out some fruit, trailmix, and other assorted goodies.

Adam suddenly realized that someone was missing. "Where's Tommy?"

"Still asleep, probably," Jason answered.

"He must be a heavy sleeper . . . either that or you wore him out last night," the green ranger said with a gleam in his eye.

"I'm not tellin' . . . Would you go see if you can get his royal highness up—my hands are kinda full," the gold ranger asked.

"Sure—no problem."

Quietly opening the flap of the tent, Adam crept inside to wake the red ranger.

'_Man, it's warm in here—I wouldn't wanna get up either.'_

He stood beside him for a couple of seconds and grinned, looking down at his commander. He was wearing low-slung, red sleep pants, no shirt and had very little cover on him. Adam knelt down and nudged his arm gently.

"Tommy . . . Tommy . . . wake up," he said quietly.

It wasn't working. Adam grinned again and leaned in closer. It wouldn't do to startle him too much—if he lashed out, the green ranger could find himself in need of a doctor . . . or at least a dentist. He watched him sleep for a few more seconds. His eyes roamed all over Tommy's sleek and deceptively powerful body—his hair was splayed out long and loose all over the pillow.

'_That braid didn't last long.'_

Adam had never looked at his leader quite like this. He knew Tommy was a good-looking guy, but asleep and in these close quarters, he got a different view. He noticed his long, black eyelashes and perfectly shaped lips—to say nothing of his high cheekbones and beautiful skin tone.

'_Damn . . .'_ He caught himself starting to fantasize. _'No, I can't do that.'_

Reminding himself that each of them belonged to another, he tried again to wake him. He gently placed a hand on the red ranger's bare chest and shook him slightly. He then reached up with his other hand and pushed a few stray hairs away from Tommy's face, stroking his forehead in the process. Tommy smiled slightly.

'_Are you still asleep or are you playin' with me?'_

"Wake up, Tommy," Adam whispered and shook him gently again.

"Mmmm . . ." the red ranger mumbled and moved his head slightly. He grinned again.

'_You _are_ playin' with me,'_ Adam decided.

The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back feeling Tommy's weight on top of him, pressing him into the floor of the tent. His long legs were intertwining with Adam's own, and the green ranger found himself being held tight by his commander's strong arms. As if in slow motion, Tommy's soft lips pressed into Adam's, momentarily causing his brain to overload. He wanted to say something—make some noise—something . . . but he couldn't. All he could focus on was the feeling of Tommy's warm, half-naked body on top of him and those wonderful lips locked with his own. Adam's hands finally started working again and he grasped Tommy's bare back, getting handfuls of silky tresses.

'_This isn't right—why is he doing this?'_

Adam's mind protested, but his body wouldn't cooperate. He had wondered for too long what this felt like to end it just yet. Tommy continued to press warm, wet kisses into his mouth and Adam felt himself relaxing into his embrace—almost against his will. Then the green ranger felt a quick little lick—just a flick of a tongue—on his lips. His mind shut down again.

However, something must have crept into Tommy's sleepy mind to make him finally open his eyes. Maybe it was the fact that the mouth he was kissing wasn't _quite_ kissing him back—not like he was used to. Maybe it was the fact that the body underneath him didn't feel quite right—it wasn't broad enough or big enough. Whatever it was, it caused the red ranger to pull his mouth free and look down at the warm body that he was pinning to the ground.

"A—Adam! Oh my god!" he scrambled off of him, breathing heavily and quickly. "I-I'm sorry . . . I thought . . . I thought you were Jase!"

Adam only moved slightly, apparently still a bit dazed. "It's . . . okay." He breathed deeply. "No harm done."

Tommy's face was blood red. "Shit. I'm sorry." He shook his head then looked around for his t-shirt. Meanwhile, Adam found the strength to sit up. He just looked at Tommy, amazed at how flustered and embarrassed he seemed.

"It's okay, bro. No big deal—you thought I was Jase," Adam said as Tommy pulled on his shirt and got up.

"Still . . . damn. Sorry."

"Forget it—let's go get some breakfast," the green ranger said, trying to be nonchalant. Truth was his insides were on fire.

"Let's keep this between us, okay?" Tommy said, almost pleadingly.

"Sure. Come on."

Adam got up and made his way toward the tent opening, followed closely by the red ranger. As soon as they were outside, the still-redfaced ranger commander went into the woods, presumably to answer nature's call. He mumbled that he'd be right back to anyone that was listening.

"Finally get him up?" Jason asked Adam when he rejoined the group.

'_Interesting choice of words there, Jase . . .' _he thought. "Yeah. He's hard to wake up."

"I know." Jason grinned—he noticed that Adam looked a little shaken up, but decided that it must be caused by the early hour.

Tommy came back a couple of minutes later and went to the creek to wash up. The cold, clear water felt good on his still-burning face.

'_How could I mistake Adam for Jason?'_ he asked himself for what must have been the tenth time.

'_You were half-asleep and your eyes were closed,'_ he answered himself.

'_But Adam—I must have shocked the hell outta him.'_

'_Maybe, but remember what he said to you in the shower room not too long ago? Besides, he wasn't exactly fighting you off, now was he?'_

Tommy shook his head to stop the argument going on in there. Just then, Jason walked up and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Good mornin'," he said in a low, deep voice and pressed his lips into Tommy's neck.

"Mornin'," he replied while wrapping Jason up in a hug. He sought out and found the gold ranger's mouth and proceeded to kiss him deeply.

"Mmmm . . ." Jason groaned into his mouth as the kiss became more passionate.

'_Now _this_ . . . this feels right,'_ Tommy thought as he tried to banish the memory of his earlier faux pas.

"Wow . . ." Jason said, panting slightly when they came up for air. "This mountain air really agrees with you! I'm gonna have to drag you up here more often!"

His boyfriend smiled. "Yeah. It's really nice out here. We should come back this summer."

"Definitely. You hungry?"

"Starved."

"Well come on before Rocky eats everything!"

They walked back, arms around each other, to rejoin the others and get ready for the hike. Tommy still felt a little guilty and thought he should probably tell Jason, but it was so embarrassing—he'd never live it down.

Adam was trying to get the incident out of his mind too, but for a different reason. Being kissed and held by Tommy had sent him reeling—even if it was just a mistake. But he couldn't let Carlos know that anything was wrong—he might have to explain.

After breakfast was finished and a few more things had been gotten together, they left the campsite to start their hike. David led the way and kept the girls close to him, so Rocky decided to stick close too. Of course, David also had one of the rifles. Tommy had the other one, so Jason, Adam, and Carlos hung with him. Carlos and Jason were busy taking pictures anyway, so it was good that Tommy didn't mind carrying the weapon—unloaded, of course.

There was a sort of trail that David was following that led up higher onto the mountain. Once they got closer to the summit, there were several nice overlooks where you could see the valley below. A sunset viewed from up there would be gorgeous.

They all sat down to rest and have a snack on one of these overlooks. Carlos continued to snap photos while munching on his granola bar.

"Man, I can't wait to start sketching some of this!" he exclaimed.

"Oh? You're an artist?" Anna asked.

"Mmm-hmm," he nodded while he chewed.

"And a great one too," Adam added. "Did you bring any with you?" he asked his boyfriend.

"A few that I'm working on are in my sketchbook—nothing that's finished, though."

"That's okay—they can tell how good you are, even if they're not completely finished."

"I'll show 'em to ya when we get back to camp, okay?" Carlos offered.

"Sure—I'd love to see 'em!" Anna said.

"Me too!" Alicia added.

Several feet away, Jason was watching Tommy closely. The red ranger still seemed preoccupied by something and he kept spacing out every now and then. It worried Jason. Ever since the accident and resulting head injury and then the seizure, Jason kept a close eye on his best friend, bro, and boyfriend.

He walked over closer and touched his hand to the small of Tommy's back.

"Hey . . . whatcha thinkin' about?"

Tommy looked up suddenly. "Oh . . . hey. I didn't see you." He paused and then said, "I was thinking about that weird déjà vu feeling I had back at the ranch."

"That must've been some strange feeling if you're still concerned about it."

"It was so strong. I could see myself doing things that I know I haven't done, but it felt so real."

"Like a dream? Could you be remembering a dream you've had?"

"Sort of like that only stronger."

"What all did you see?"

"Myself riding Eaglefoot bareback—on the beach. I was talking to someone—an older man—kinda looked like Sam, but it wasn't him."

"Any idea who it could be?"

"No."

"Maybe you should talk to Sam about it. He might have some ideas," Jason suggested.

"Yeah, I'll do that."

Jason wrapped his arms around Tommy's waist and pressed himself into his boyfriend's back. "Don't worry—I doubt it's anything serious," he said.

"I know—it's just so odd," Tommy replied.

Resuming their hike, the group continued around the summit trail. They had been walking and climbing for nearly two hours now and the less athletic among them were getting a bit tired. It was probably this fatigue that caused Anna to fall over a tree root and land pretty hard.

"Ow!" she yelled and hissed loudly, grabbing her ankle.

"Anna! You okay?" Rocky asked, kneeling beside her and touching her leg. He could see the pain on her face.

"My ankle hurts . . ." she grimaced and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Rocky's eyes widened. "It'll be okay—let me look."

He pushed her pant leg up a little and examined her, asking her to move it as much as she was able. Jason started to help, but Tommy held him back.

"Let Rocky do it," he whispered and winked at his boyfriend. Jason nodded and smiled.

"I'm pretty sure it's just twisted," Rocky said gently. "We'll put something on it when we get back to camp."

"I-I don't know if I can walk," Anna whimpered.

Rocky helped her stand and she tried to put her weight on it—nothin' doin'. She sadly shook her head. She didn't want to be a burden to them—how was she going to get back to camp?

Rocky handed his small bag to Adam and then knelt down in front of her, beckoning her to climb onto his back.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Sure—I can carry you," he responded.

She looked up at the other guys with a questioning look.

"Go ahead—he can carry you easy. You should see him in the gym," Jason told her with a reassuring smile. The other guys nodded. Rocky looked up at him and smiled.

Carefully climbing onto the blue ranger's back, Anna trusted him to get her back to camp where something could be done for her ankle. Just as Jason had said, Rocky stood up and walked on with the others like she wasn't there. He was a lot stronger than he looked. Several minutes later, she wrapped her arms around him tightly as they talked quietly. Tommy and Jason and the other guys nudged each other. This was going well.

Nearly back to camp, Adam was playing around with Carlos on the trail when he lost his footing and went tumbling down a small hill, wiping out Carlos on the way. They slid and rolled dozens of feet before finally coming to a stop. Luckily for them, they were in no immediate danger.

"You guys okay?" David called, trying not to laugh.

Tommy started giggling at the look on David's face and it quickly spread throughout the group. They stared down at them laughing as Adam and Carlos tried to pull themselves back up the hill.

"If you guys wanna roll around together, do it in private, okay?" Rocky called down to them.

"Yeah, get a room," Tommy laughed.

Adam managed to free one hand long enough to give them all a very definite one-fingered salute. They all just laughed that much harder. Rocky had to kneel down to keep from dropping Anna he was giggling so hard.

Once back in camp, they all assessed the damage and started to prepare lunch. Adam and Carlos were none the worse for their unscheduled detour. Carlos' precious camera even escaped unscathed. Anna's ankle was definitely twisted, but nothing worse so Rocky took care of her while the food was being pulled out.

Everyone except Anna pitched in and got lunch ready—Tommy was handing out sodas from the cooler that had been kept in the cold creek water.

"Adam, Carlos—what do you want? Coke, Dr. Pepper, or Sprite?"

"Coke," Adam called and Carlos nodded.

Tommy brought over two cold cans of cola and handed them to Adam, who was closest. As Adam took them, one hand accidentally grasped one of Tommy's hands and their eyes met momentarily. The incident from earlier that morning flashed through both their minds and they suddenly became uncomfortable.

"Umm . . . there ya go," Tommy said and looked away quickly.

"Thanks," Adam responded quietly.

'_What's with those two?'_ Carlos thought. _'That was weird.'_ He noticed that Tommy's cheeks were a bit pink when he walked back by. _'Okaaay.'_

Jason also noticed that Tommy seemed a bit ill at ease when he sat down with his food. He just attributed it to the déjà vu thing, though.

All through lunch, the group talked and laughed about the morning's activities. Tommy told Jason that he wanted to revisit a certain spot later that evening when they could be alone. Jason winked and grinned. "You got it."

Deep into conversation about everyone's college plans, a sound was heard that some of them had been dreading all weekend—their communicators were going off. David heard something that sounded like a cell phone chime. He noticed that his brother, Jason, Rocky, and Adam had all suddenly tensed up. Tommy pulled his cell phone from his jeans pocket to play it off.

"Damn . . . it's Mom. What the hell does she want?" he muttered. Flipping open his phone, he spoke to the dead air. "Hello? Yeah Mom . . . yeah . . . I don't know . . . hang on . . ." he said and got up to walk into the nearby woods.

The non-rangers of the group, minus David, just assumed that he didn't want to argue with his mom in front of everyone. He was really going to find out what the alert was about.

Jason watched him go and then turned back to the group. "His mom's . . . well, she's a bitch, to be honest." He wasn't kidding and it helped to convince Carlos, Anna, and Alicia.

Tommy suddenly came running back and grabbed up the rifle that he'd been carrying on the hike. "David—I heard something over there while I was on the phone. Sounds big," he said, acting appropriately spooked.

His big brother knew what was going on and jumped up, grabbing his gun and loading it quickly. "Girls, get in your tent," he demanded in a tone that left no room for argument. They did as they were told with Alicia helping Anna limp into the tent.

"Jason, Adam, Rocky—come with me," Tommy said and started off in the direction he had come from.

"Tommy—be careful. Call out if you need me!" David said loudly. "Carlos, get in the tent and keep the girls calm—I'll stand watch."

None of the civilians in the group had time to wonder what was happening. Tommy and the others were gone off into the woods so fast that no questions were asked.

"Carlos, what do you think it is?" Alicia asked, wide-eyed and a bit shaky.

He was a little freaked too, but he didn't want them to know that. "I don't know . . . but try not to worry . . . David, Tommy, and the others know what they're doing," he said gently, reaching out to touch each of them on a shoulder. "David especially . . . he's serious business."

The knowledge that her big boyfriend was in charge and wouldn't let anything happen to them made her feel a little better. She grinned a bit and nodded.

Said boyfriend poked his head into the tent moments later. "It's okay guys, don't worry. Tommy knows what he's doing."

'_Yeah, as the ranger commander maybe . . . he's a rookie out here in the rough.'_

David knew that if there was a wild animal about, he'd be the one to go after it and Tommy would be doing the babysitting.

'_Of course I'm no good with a zord, so it evens out, I guess.'_

A few minutes later, he told them he'd be right back and he walked into the woods a ways. Firing off a couple of shots just to make things interesting, he then ran back into camp and announced that they were moving to the trucks.

"Come on, it'll be safer inside," he said and handed his rifle to Carlos who held it out and away from his body like it was something nasty. He was an artist, not a sniper. Undoubtedly, it was the first time he'd ever held a gun.

David motioned for Anna to stand and he proceeded to scoop her up with one arm and help her wrap her legs around his waist. Then he took his rifle back and headed for the truck with Alicia and Carlos _very_ close behind. The Hispanic teen was on Alicia like white on rice—partially because he was scared too and partially because he had to do his part to protect the women.

David actually just wanted to get in the truck to listen to the stereo. Might as well be comfortable while they waited for the superheroes to do their thing and come back. There was no telling how long this would take. He opted for Jason's dad's Suburban—it was big and roomy enough for all of them to be comfortable.

'_Probably has a nice sound system too.'_

He gently put Anna in the backseat and he got in the driver's seat, allowing the others to get in on their own. He turned the key to lower the windows a little to get some fresh air and then he turned on the stereo.

"Let's see what we've got here to listen to," he said flipping through Jason's CD wallet. "Hmmm . . . good taste in music. I'm liking him more and more all the time," he grinned.

"Might as well . . . I think he's gonna be around for a looong time," Carlos said, trying to get a conversation started.

"Yeah, no kiddin'! As long as Tommy's happy . . ."

"You seem awfully calm now that we're in here. You're not worried about the others?" Anna asked.

"Oh, I'm concerned. I just know that my little brother knows what he's doing—like I said before. They'll be okay—don't worry. Besides, I've got the rifle right here if I need it."

--20 Minutes Earlier—

Adam, Rocky, and Jason quickly followed Tommy into the woods behind the campsite, remembering to act as if they were looking for a wild, potentially dangerous animal. Getting thirty or forty yards into the trees, Tommy turned and placed the rifle by a big stump.

"Gasket's at it again—let's go," he said in his leader voice.

"Zeo Ranger 3—Blue!"

"Zeo Ranger 4—Green!"

"Zeo Ranger 5—Red!"

"Gold Ranger Power!"

After being transformed, they teleported themselves to the Power Chamber to be briefed and to join up with Tanya and Kat.

"Sorry to pull you away from your trip, guys," Billy began. "I think this one could cause some problems," he added, indicating the viewscreen.

The monster du jour did look like a nasty one and they were still trying to determine how to counteract the new weapon of Gasket's that had penetrated their armour.

"Okay, let's go guys—and be very careful out there," Tommy told his team after they were briefed and a plan had been formulated.

During the ground battle, things were getting kinda dicey. Several of Gasket's generals had shown up and they were all equipped with the new laser weapon. It was a good thing that the rangers were all quick on their feet and able to dodge the blasts when they came their way. Adam and Tommy found themselves fighting in close proximity and took to shielding themselves with the bodies of the slower-moving cogs. That worked great for a while, but all at once, Tommy found himself surrounded and in great danger. Who knows what two simultaneous blasts from those lasers would do?

At the last possible moment, the green ranger came charging in and grabbed his commander, pulling him down and barrel rolling for several yards. They quickly scrambled behind a destroyed car for shelter. Both breathing hard and trying to gather themselves to continue, they found themselves helmet to helmet. Even without being able to see the other's eyes, each knew the other was looking right at him.

"Thanks, man," Tommy said.

"You okay?" Adam panted.

"Yeah. You?" Tommy responded.

"A little winded—I'll be okay."

"I hope the others are alright. We need the zords—I'm done with this hand to hand crap."

"Agreed."

Once the zords were deployed, the rangers made short work of Gasket's latest baddie. One great thing came out of the battle: Jason was able to wrest one of the laser guns out of the hands of a general he had just decapitated. He presented it to Billy and they all hoped that the former blue ranger could now design something to either disable the weapon or at least protect the rangers from its energy discharge.

"Great job, bro!" Tommy exclaimed excitedly when he saw the gun in his boyfriend's hands.

"Way to go, Jase!" Rocky said. Now they had a better chance of bringing down the Machine Empire.

The guys were going to shower after the battle, but they realized that there would be no explaining why they'd come back from looking for a wild animal all freshly showered and clean. They teleported back to almost exactly the same spot as they had left from and Tommy picked up the rifle.

"Well, let's see if we can keep this charade going, shall we?" he said and headed for the campsite.

They made it back and looked all over for David, Alicia, Anna, and Carlos, even in all the tents, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Okay, I give—where are they?" Rocky wondered out loud.

Adam looked in the direction of the vehicles. "Think they're in the trucks?"

The other three shrugged and they all moved toward the parking area. Tommy started grinning and pointing when he saw the four of them asleep against the windows of the Suburban.

"Tommy, we _have_ to play a joke on 'em! This setup is too perfect to waste!" Jason pleaded.

"Like what?" Tommy asked with a gleam in his eyes.

"You could come out of the woods carrying Tommy like he'd been attacked or something . . ." Adam suggested to Jason.

"That's mean—you'll scare 'em," Rocky said.

"Oh come on—it'll be great!" Jason responded.

"Yeah, we won't keep it up for long," Tommy said.

They all agreed to do it as long as they didn't persist with the deception for too long. Quietly they crept away from the trucks and back into the woods where they had come from. After making their plan, Jason tried to get himself into the right frame of mind—Rocky and Adam did the same. Tommy, being the supposed victim, just had to lay there and try not to laugh.

"Okay, let's do this," Adam said.

He and Rocky put on their best panicked looks and went running out of the woods towards the trucks, yelling at the top of their lungs.

"David! Carlos! Come quick!"

"Where are you? We need help! David!"

They carried on until they got right at the doors of the Suburban, knocking and still yelling.

"David! Come quick! It's Tommy!" Adam exclaimed, looking frantic.

Rocky opened Carlos' door and started pulling him out of the big truck. "Come on—he needs help!"

The girls looked terribly upset—they scrambled out of the truck and Alicia helped Anna limp back to the camp. David had gone running as soon as Adam had woken him up. What he saw as he got close to the clearing was Jason walking quickly out of the woods carrying Tommy who appeared to be unconscious. Jason looked extremely distraught—Tommy's body was limp, one of his arms hung down and his head was thrown back—he had no expression. Jason shifted him in his arms and held him tight against him as they reached the campsite. Suddenly he dropped to his knees and held Tommy to his chest like a baby. He buried his face in Tommy's hair and rocked back and forth slightly as he made what sounded to David like sobbing noises.

"Jason! What happened?! What's wrong?!" David pleaded while trying to pull Tommy from Jason's distraught embrace. Jason wouldn't budge—if anything, he clutched him tighter.

Carlos stood by looking terrified, touching Adam for reassurance. Adam looked really upset. Alicia and Anna's eyes appeared to be tearing up. Seeing Tommy like that and Jason so upset was more than they could stand.

"What happened Rocky?" Anna asked quietly, holding onto his arm for support.

"He—he'll be okay," Rocky said, trying to sound convincing, but he couldn't stand this much longer.

David was desperately trying to get Jason to let go of his brother, believing that something had to have happened to him on the battlefield since he knew there wasn't really a wild animal out there. If he had been able to think clearly, he would have realized that if Tommy had been injured, they would have treated him at the Power Chamber, not brought him back to the mountains.

"Please Jason—let me see what's wrong with him," David pleaded again.

Jason slowly lifted his head a little and relaxed his death grip on Tommy's seemingly unconscious body. David took Tommy's face in his hands and turned it so that he could see him better. Slowly his eyes started to open.

"What's wrong?" David asked worriedly.

"Uhhh . . ." Tommy groaned. "What's wrong is . . ." he began slowly in a low, gravelly voice, " . . . what's wrong is that we went off in search of a dangerous animal and you guys go fall asleep in the SUV listening to the stereo!!" he said in his normal voice, beginning to grin towards the end. Jason was grinning from ear to ear as he held Tommy in his arms. David was speechless. He looked from one to the other with wide eyes.

"You . . . _asshole_!" he said loudly, a note of relief in his voice, but he was plenty upset. He got up and walked away a few steps, running his hands through his hair. "Do you have any idea how bad you scared me?" he said after what seemed like five minutes. "What ever possessed you to pull something like that?!" He was pretty mad and was directing it all at Tommy. "That's so fuckin' immature . . ."

Tommy got up and walked over to him. "Sorry man, but when we got back and found you guys asleep we had to pull a prank on you." He reached up and put his hand on David's shoulder. That was the wrong thing to do. As the others watched, David grabbed his little brother's arm and side and threw him onto the ground, quickly straddling him and pinning his arms. Tommy was winded and too stunned to defend himself.

"That was a lousy thing to do, Tommy," he said in a stern, menacing voice. The others shared a surprised look.

Jason quickly came to his boyfriend's aid. No one treats him like that, brother or not.

"Come on David—it was a gag. No harm done," he said. "Let him up."

Tommy stared up at his brother almost in disbelief. "I'm sorry David—we were just playin' around."

David started to get up, but paused and looked Tommy in the eyes. "Make no mistake, little brother—there _will_ be payback."

He removed himself from the red ranger's body and went over to where the girls were standing looking relieved but still slightly upset.

"See? You've upset the ladies," David said and wrapped an arm around Alicia's waist and placed a hand on Anna's upper back. Alicia looked up at him with a glint of caution in her eyes—she'd never seen him act like that.

"We're sorry, girls. Just havin' a little fun . . ." Jason said.

"Yeah, we didn't mean to really upset anyone," Adam said.

"That was hateful!" Alicia said forcefully. She pointed at Tommy. "You should have known better . . . you should have known that it would scare David!"

Tommy's brother looked down at her and shook his head as if to say 'forget it'.

Jason didn't like the way this was going. They seemed to be blaming Tommy for everything. "Look, it wasn't all Tommy's doing, okay? All four of us were in on it. As a matter of fact, it was _my_ idea!"

"Let's just get dinner going—it'll be getting dark in another hour or so," David said and went toward the supply boxes.

Tommy gave Jason a serious look and then went over to try and talk to his obviously put out brother.

"Ummm . . . David. Can I talk to you?" Tommy said tentatively.

"What? I need to get dinner started," David replied in a curt tone.

Tommy decided to let his brother know that he was serious. He grabbed David's arm and made him look at his face. "Let the others do it—we need to talk."

David sighed and relented. "Fine."

"Jason, Rocky—do you think you could handle getting dinner going?" Tommy asked, loud enough for them to hear on the other side of the clearing.

"Yeah, sure."

"No problem," they answered.

"Come on, let's go down by the lake," Tommy suggested.

They started off together, David trailing behind. His body language said that he really didn't want to do this.

Jason watched them for a couple of minutes. Carlos walked by and looked at him closely.

"We really didn't mean any harm, ya know. We were just playin' around."

"Too bad you're such a convincing actor. I seriously thought Tommy was dead for a few seconds there," Carlos said.

Jason shook his head and looked back toward the two brothers. "It was just a joke," he mumbled.

Sitting on one of the big rocks that were scattered around the lake shore, Tommy sighed and tried to begin.

"David . . . we're . . . _I'm_ sorry. I had no idea that you would take us so seriously. I mean, we kid around with our friends all the time."

David sighed heavily. "I guess I overreacted, but . . . damn, you scared me."

"Sorry."

"All I kept seeing was you in ICU with all those tubes and wires . . . you're the only brother I've got, Tommy."

The red ranger hung his head. "I didn't mean to scare you that bad—I didn't think we were that convincing." He looked up at his brother's deadly serious face. "Won't happen again."

"Look, I realize that even though we're brothers, we really don't know each other. I'm not a killjoy—I enjoy a good prank as much as the next person." He stopped and looked down, trying to decide what to say.

"It's just that . . . damn it, I waited so long to find you and then I nearly lost you a couple of months ago. I . . . I love you, Tommy—we're family and I can't stand the thought of anything happening to you." Opening up like that wasn't easy for him. Tommy looked into his face, a little surprised.

"Maybe if you'd been carrying Jason out of the woods, I wouldn't have snapped like that."

"I can't pick his big ass up," Tommy said quietly and grinned a little. So did David. "I love you too David and I'm really sorry. We didn't think."

"Okay, let's forget it. We'd better get up there and eat while there's food left," David said and got up to head back to camp. "Oh by the way, how'd it go earlier? You kick some ass?"

"Oh yeah—we did. It went pretty well, actually."

Tommy filled David in on the developments like Jason stealing one of the laser guns so that they could learn how to counteract it.

"Is he a good ranger?" David asked quietly.

"The best—I wish you could see him in action. He's a better strategist than I am—much more analytical. I'm a hothead."

David chuckled. "Runs in the family."

Tommy laughed with him. "Yeah, I guess it does. But seriously, I want you guys to get to know each other. He's the best friend anyone could have—I don't know what I'd do without him." Tommy had such a smile on his face—it was obvious to David that he cared very deeply for Jason and was very much in love—it wasn't some transient high school thing.

"I'm really glad you have him—you two seem to be good for each other."

"You and Alicia seem to be doing well. Think it's serious?"

David shrugged. "Don't know—it's a little early yet. She's a lot of fun and really sweet . . . we'll see."

_______________________

Once they got down to eating dinner, tempers and nerves had calmed and they all got along again.

"So, whatever happened to that wild animal you guys went to find?" Carlos asked, realizing that nothing more had been said about it.

The four rangers looked at each other briefly. "Well . . . uh, we tracked _something_ for a while, but we never caught up with it," Adam offered.

"Yeah, it managed to stay away from us which is what we wanted anyway, right?" Jason said and looked over at Tommy.

"Oh yeah, I was hoping we _wouldn't_ catch up to it," he chuckled.

David just grinned. _'These guys can lie at the drop of a hat—I'm not sure if that's good or not.'_

After everyone had eaten their fill, the trash was collected and everything cleaned up. Carlos then pulled out his sketchbook to work on the picture he was currently in the middle of.

"Oooh, let me see!" Anna nearly squealed. She hobbled over to where he was sitting and looked over his shoulder. "Damn . . . is that _Jason_?!" she said in surprise and looked up at the gold ranger who was sitting nearby.

"Yep," Carlos said with a grin. He flipped the page. "And do you recognize this guy?"

She looked at the sketch momentarily and her eyes widened. She looked up at the red ranger and then back down at the drawing in Carlos' hands. "_Tommy_?"

"Right. Here's the pict- . . ." he turned to the couple. "Do you mind if I show them the original pictures?" he asked, indicating Anna and Alicia who had joined her friend.

"Nah, go ahead," Tommy said and grinned.

Carlos pulled out the snapshots of Tommy and Jason posing on the Harley and handed them to the girls. Both whistled and grinned.

"Mmmm-mmm-mmm, look at you two!" Alicia said appreciatively.

"You guys should be in a magazine! Why don't you model?" Anna asked sincerely.

Jason pretended to be embarrassed. "Awww shucks . . . you like the pictures?"

"Uh, yeah! When were these taken?"

"Before Halloween—we were just playin' around with the camera and the bike."

David got up and walked over to see what all the fuss was about. Alicia handed him one of the pictures. "Check out your baby brother," she said with a gleam in her eye.

David took the picture and looked at it for a minute. He had to admit, Tommy _was_ very nice-looking and built well. "Doin' some modeling, huh?" he grinned. Tommy smirked back.

"And here's Jason," Alicia said and handed him the other picture.

"Nice bike," he said. What he wanted to say was how jealous he was of Jason's physique.

"Carlos, your sketches are wonderful, too. You're very talented," Anna said as she looked through his book.

"He is, isn't he?" Adam proclaimed with a big smile.

"I've been taking lots of pictures on this trip. I'll let you guys see the sketches when I get 'em done," Carlos announced.

____________________________

Sometime after dinner, the couples started to go off in different directions. Tommy and Jason wanted to revisit that spot that Tommy had picked out—just on the other side of the lake.

Once it got too dark for Carlos to sketch anymore, he and Adam wandered off on their own too. David took Alicia on a little walk to show her one of his favourite spots, leaving Rocky and Anna sitting by the campfire.

The blue ranger shifted a little uncomfortably in his lawn chair.

"So . . . looks like it's just me and you for a little while," he started.

"Yeah, looks that way."

"Sorry you hurt your ankle, but are you having a nice time except for that?"

"Definitely. It's been fun getting to know all you guys and getting to leave Angel Grove for a little while. I don't think we've been out of town since we moved here over a year ago!"

"It's nice to get away every now and then—even if it is only for a weekend."

"Yeah," she said and shivered a little, pulling her jacket more closely around her.

"You cold?" Rocky asked.

"A little."

"Wait, I'll get you a jacket." Rocky disappeared into his tent and rummaged through his duffle bag until he found his heavy sweatshirt. He took off his jacket and pulled on the warm garment quickly, then he headed back out to Anna.

"Here ya go—this'll keep you warm," he said, helping her slip into his jacket.

It was too big for her, but it was already warm and it smelled like Rocky, so she gladly took it. "But what about you?"

"Oh, I'll be fine, don't worry." He smiled at her so sweetly that she couldn't argue.

"Well okay, if you're sure."

As they sat by the fire keeping warm and making small talk, Rocky decided that he had to at least try to make a move—to show her that he was interested.

'_Come on Rocko—don't screw this up.'_

Scooting over a little closer, he tried to think of something to say.

"So . . . what do you like to do for fun? You ever go to the Youth Center?"

"I've been there a couple of times, yeah. I don't really know anyone but Alicia that hangs out there though."

"Well now you do. All of us, except David of course, hang out there all the time. You should come."

"What do you do there?"

"Oh, we eat, do homework, spar, work out, eat some more . . . Tommy and Jason teach karate there."

"Do they? They're good enough to teach, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. They're both 4th degree black belts. They've been teaching for a while."

"4th degree? Wow . . . what about you? You're obviously in great shape," she smiled up at him.

Rocky grinned. "Thanks. I'm a black belt in karate, but lately I've been focusing on Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I could teach you, if you want."

"Really? That sounds like fun! I'm a beginner, though."

"That's okay—no bad habits to break. When your ankle heals, we'll get started, alright?" he smiled. A glimmer of hope shown in his eyes.

Anna returned his smile. "Alright—we'll do that."

"Your . . . uh . . . boyfriend won't mind, will he?" Rocky asked, fishing for information.

Anna chuckled. "No, he won't care." She watched as he suddenly became crest-fallen. She touched his arm. "Because he doesn't exist! If I was dating anyone do you seriously think he'd let me go camping with six hot guys?!" She shook her head and grinned at him.

'_Hot guys? Is she including me in that?'_

Rocky gave her a bit of a grin, but there was a definite question on his face.

Anna chuckled again. "Yes, that includes you, Silly." She shifted over and before Rocky knew what was happening, she placed a light little kiss on his cheek.

A huge grin broke out all across the blue ranger's face. "You're sweet. So, no boyfriend, huh?"

"Nope." She sensed that he was trying to ask her out, but boy, he was taking his sweet time.

Emboldened by the little kiss and the admission that she thought he was 'hot', Rocky decided that now was the time. "In that case, would you like to go out sometime? Out to eat or to a movie or something?"

"I'd love to, Rocky," she said with a pretty smile that spread to the blue ranger's face.

"Good," was all he could say. He did heave a big sigh of relief, though.

There was a bit of an awkward silence after that. Neither could decide where to go from there.

Finally, Rocky said, "Are you warm enough?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you sure you are?" she asked, concerned by his lack of a coat.

"Well, you can come over here a little closer and keep me warm if you like," he grinned and put his arm around her shoulders. They snuggled together and talked a little more, trying to decide what to do on their first date.

Across the lake, Jason and Tommy were making good use of their solitude. The blankets they had brought along were spread out under the trees, making a comfortable cushion for them. For a while, the lovers had just lain there, listening to the water lap gently on the shore and gazing at the moon's reflection on the lake. They talked about all sorts of things from the battle earlier that day to what was said between Tommy and David during their talk. Since it was such a clear night, they even had a contest to see who could name the most constellations.

Before long though, the temptation of warm, sexy bodies got the best of them. Hands started roaming free and increasingly passionate kisses were shared. It was way too cool out to start undressing each other, so they opted to head for the seclusion of their tent before getting down to business. Besides, they had no idea where their friends were at the moment. Kissing in front of them was one thing, but anything more serious . . . uh, no.

They quickly rolled up their blankets and set off, arms around each other, back over to the campsite.

Tommy leaned over and kissed Jason's neck. "So . . . your arm's almost healed now. When are we gonna take another shot at 'celebrating', if ya know what I mean?"

Jason grinned and chuckled. "Wanna go for it tonight?"

"In the tent?!" Tommy looked at him, shocked.

"Sure . . . whatcha think?" Jason grinned. He knew Tommy wouldn't do something like that in the relatively public and insecure environment of a camping tent. He didn't fancy the idea either, but he wanted to see what Tommy would say.

"Ummm . . . no! I don't think so . . ."

Jason laughed. "Nah . . . we need to make it special—not convenient. We'll have to make plans to try again soon. Wanna try the Power Chamber again?"

"I think so, don't you? I mean, we don't have to worry about getting caught there."

"True. So the Power Chamber it is then. All we need to decide now is when."

"Sometime soon. We can decide exactly when we get home. Right now, I just wanna get you in that tent!" Tommy said insistently and pulled Jason along a little faster.

____________________

"Adam, can I ask you somethin'?" Carlos queried. He ran his hand slowly up and down the green ranger's chest as they lay in their tent talking.

"Sure, what is it?" he answered, looking up at his boyfriend with those beautiful amber-coloured eyes.

"You said that I'm the first guy you've really been out with, right?"

"Right."

"Have you had any other experience with men? I mean . . . ummm, you know . . . sexually?" Carlos asked almost timidly. He didn't really want to ask, but he felt like he needed to know.

"No, not sexually. I've been out on a date with a couple of different guys—one-offs, both of them. We just didn't hit it off like you and I have. I did kiss them, but nothing more serious. What about you?"

"Pretty much the same. I did date this one guy for a few weeks, but it didn't work out. We never did anything more than kiss either."

"What about girls?" Adam asked.

"Well, I've had two or three girlfriends—nothing serious, though."

"Ummm . . . are you a virgin?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah. Glad to know you are too. I don't feel like I'm at such a disadvantage," Adam grinned.

"So, you had many girlfriends?"

"Only a couple, really. Everyone seems to think that Tanya and I either have dated or are dating, but we're just friends. There was one girl I really cared about—we were together for about six months."

"Oh? What happened?"

"She moved with her family. Long distance relationships don't work . . . and this is _really_ long distance," Adam said with a bit of a grin.

"How far?"

"Try England." Carlos' eyes widened a bit at that. "Sarah and her family moved there a little over a year ago. We still keep in touch, though."

"Oh well . . . that's good," Carlos answered half-heartedly.

Adam could read his boyfriend's thoughts. "We're just friends now, don't worry. She's a sweetheart, but she's moved on and so have I. We weren't extremely serious anyway—too young at the time."

"So now that you're an old man, you ready to get serious?" Carlos asked with a big grin.

Adam smirked. "Yeah and I'd better hurry up before I'm too old to enjoy myself," he said sarcastically.

Carlos pulled him close and wrapped both an arm and a leg around him. As he buried his face in Adam's neck, he said, "Let's get started."

_________________________________

_Author's Notes: Yeah, I know. The camping trip's not over and I'm ending the chapter. Well, it was either that or make you guys wait another week which I really didn't wanna do. I hope you enjoyed it anyway! I'll conclude the trip and move on in the next chapter. _

_Aren't Rocky and Anna cute?_

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and especially to those who review every chapter! I love you guys!_


	30. One Step Closer

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter! You can thank/blame Prophet144 for that—we hung out for two days and came up with all kinds of evil storylines and ideas for our various stories—should definitely be interesting!! We may even collaborate on a story in the near future . . .

**Chapter 29—One Step Closer**

**(Chapter 30 on the website)**

(Adam's POV)

I can barely hear the voice, but it's becoming insistent.

"Adam . . . wake up," it says again.

I think I feel a hand shaking me. Come on . . . five more minutes, huh? Who is that, anyway? It's definitely not Mom.

"Adam, come on . . . you promised."

Promised? Promised what? The car? The grass? Not the garage, please.

"Fine. I know what'll get you up."

Suddenly I feel weight pressing into me, stretched out from my chest to my thighs. A warm body on top of me, pressing me into the bed—hands on my chest and neck—silky hair brushing my face—soft lips teasing mine. I try to pry my eyes open, but they're still too heavy. This is dream . . . a nice dream, mind you . . . but just a dream.

"You're gonna get up, Mr. Park. Try to sleep through this . . ."

Those soft lips press into mine, kissing me warmly. Mmmm . . . this is nice. The kiss lasts for quite a while. It gets even nicer when I feel a wet tongue tickling my lips, coaxing them apart. Ah, what the heck? I slowly open up a little and that same wet tongue invades my mouth, exploring and tasting me. Mmmmm . . . lovin' this. Maybe it's not just a dream . . . that tongue is pretty insistent and those warm, strong hands are still grabbing me. I start to return the kiss if for no other reason than to regain a little control.

Slowly I begin to remember a similar situation. Being pinned down, held tight, and kissed by . . ._Tommy?! _ My eyes fly open and I break the kiss. Panting, I look up into the big, brown eyes of . . .

"Carlos . . .?"

He's breathing heavy too. "Yeah . . . who else would it be, Silly?"

"Ummm . . . nobody. I knew it was you." Come on Adam, play it off.

After a couple of seconds of silence that felt like a couple of minutes, I come up with, "What time is it?"

"Time for you to finally get up. You promised we'd go down by the lake so I can take some pictures of the sunrise."

"Sunrise? Oh yeah . . . I did, didn't I?"

He grins and nods.

"Well . . . you'll have to get off me if you want me to get up."

"This _is_ kinda nice, though."

I smile up at him. "Yep, but you'll miss the sunrise."

He sighs and then presses another kiss into my lips. "Okay, let's go."

(End POV)

An hour or so later, Jason was outside his and Tommy's tent, headed for the woods.

"Man, I knew I shouldn't've drank all that soda last night," he grumbled to himself as he made his way through the trees.

Once he took care of nature, he cleaned up a bit at the creek and then decided to go ahead and get the fire stoked up. It had gotten colder overnight and everyone was going to need some warm breakfast and coffee soon.

As he sat warming his hands over the newly rebuilt fire, he looked up to see Rocky nearly stumbling out of his tent. The blue ranger appeared to have had a rough night.

"Hey Rocko. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Hmmm? No . . ." he replied, scratching his head. "I just gotta go." He started towards the woods.

"I understand, bro." Jason grinned at him, noticing that his hair was sticking out at odd angles all over his head. He ran his hands through his own hair to make sure he didn't have the same problem.

"What you doin' up?" Rocky asked when he returned.

"Same thing you are. I just decided to get the fire goin'."

"Oh. I wanted to make breakfast for the girls."

"Tryin' to win some points with Anna?" Jason grinned.

"I guess, but we're already goin' out next weekend," he yawned.

"Really?" the gold ranger smiled. "Nice. She seems pretty sweet."

"She is. I hope it goes well," Rocky said, sounding a tad unsure.

"Oh, it will. I think you two'll hit it off just fine."

They discussed the plans that had been made while they got the coffee started. Once it was ready, Jason and Rocky were still the only ones awake, so they had a rare opportunity to talk—just the two of them.

"So, you ever regret not going back to Switzerland?"

"No. I mean, I miss my friends that I made there and I do miss being able to travel around Europe on our breaks from the Peace Conference, but . . ." he looked in the direction of the tent he shared with Tommy. "What I have here is _so_ much more important."

Rocky smiled. "You really, sincerely love him, don'tcha?"

Jason nodded slightly and locked eyes with the blue ranger. "Yeah, I do."

Rocky nodded and smiled.

"I take it you're okay with us now?" Jason asked.

"Yeah. I mean, it was a shock at first, but I'm good with it now. I still don't wanna watch, though," he grinned.

Jason was going to make a smartass comment, but suddenly he remembered the talk that he and Tommy had had before the trip. Now was as good a time as any to discuss it with Rocky.

"Umm Rocko . . . I think I need to apologize to you."

"Huh? For what?"

"Well . . . you know that I like you, right?"

Jason saw an odd look cross Rocky's face.

"As a friend, I mean. I like you as a friend," he clarified.

"Yeah. I like you too. Why?"

"It's like this—I've always played around with my friends—you know, pulling pranks and kidding with them. I've never meant to hurt anyone's feelings or make anyone uncomfortable." He paused to see if Rocky was with him.

"Well, Tommy told me that sometimes I go too far and I don't know when to stop. He said that I had upset you more than once." He paused again.

The blue ranger wasn't attempting to respond. He did notice, however, that Jason seemed a little unsure of what to say—it was weird to see the normally confident gold ranger stumbling and trying to gather his thoughts.

"What I'm trying to say Rocky, is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for picking at you and I'm sorry for upsetting you. I never meant any harm. Kind of like yesterday—we didn't mean to seriously worry David or anyone else."

"I know. And yeah, I have to say that you've pissed me off a couple of times, but I don't hold grudges. I appreciate the apology, though. I guess I'm too sensitive sometimes--I know that's just how you are."

Jason shook his head. "See, I've always kinda been everybody's big brother. The whole original team sorta thought of me that way—even Tommy, but in a slightly different way. So I played the big brother role—sticking up for my friends, defending them, ya know? I'd go rushing into a battle first—take on all the baddies myself—if I thought it would keep them from getting hurt. Of course, I also picked at 'em and played jokes on 'em like any big brother would."

"Oh, I've heard the stories . . ." Rocky started, grinning and chuckling. "Billy, Kim, and Tommy have told us about some of your more famous stunts. I'm impressed, I have to say. I'm usually the clown, but you . . . you're devious!"

A wide, toothy smile broke out all across Jason's face. "Why thank you, Jester. I'm glad you approve!"

Rocky was really enjoying talking to Jason like this. He had never really had the opportunity before. Someone else had always been around—Adam or Tommy or one of the others.

"It's cool to have a chance to sit here and just talk to you. I don't think we've ever done this before," Rocky said, cautiously sipping his coffee.

"You're right. I don't think we have. I need to get to know my successor better!" Jason grinned.

"Tell me something—you said that Tommy sort of thought of you as a big brother like the rest, but in a different way. What did you mean? I can't imagine him needing to be defended or protected."

Jason thought for a moment. "Well, Tommy can take care of himself in battle, you know that. He can pretty much take care of himself in most any situation, but right after Rita's spell was broken he needed support and reassurance. He didn't know if he belonged with us as a ranger or as a friend."

"I've heard so little about all that. What was it that bothered him so much?" the blue ranger asked.

"See, he remembers most of what he did while under the spell and it's hard for him to deal with. Tommy Oliver is a good person--a really kind, caring guy who was turned into a destructive pawn. He said it was almost like an out-of-body experience—like he was watching himself do these awful things, but couldn't stop. The guilt was too much for him."

"What kinds of things did he do? I remember very little from the news and I can't get any of the original guys to talk to me about it."

Jason wondered briefly if he should be telling him this. If Tommy won't talk about it, maybe he shouldn't either. But then again, Rocky was a member of the team and had been for a while now. He did have a right to know—especially if, God forbid, that eerie green aura that they had seen around Tommy turned out to be something bad.

"Well, he used the Dragonzord to destroy lots of buildings and property. I'm not sure what the total count is, but he did kill a lot of people—indirectly. Most were crushed by the zord or a building when it came down. And, of course, he tried his level best to kill my entire team—he hurt several of us—came within a breath of running me through with his sword."

Rocky's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Damn . . . and he's had to live with that . . . but it wasn't his fault—he was being controlled by Rita."

Nodding, Jason said, "Yeah, I know. And he knows that too, but Tommy has an overactive guilt complex. He can find ways of blaming himself for stuff that other people would never think of. Anyway, it was all that guilt that I tried to help him get through right after the spell was lifted. He had horrible nightmares for months—still does sometimes. He would show up at my house at all hours of the night looking pale and shaky—just really freaked out. I'd let him in and we'd talk and then he'd fall asleep on my bed after a while. He just needed some physical contact with someone who understood."

Rocky just sat there listening--he had no idea it had been that bad. No wonder they were so close. "I'm sure he was glad when you came back and decided to stay—and then you had the chance to rejoin the team. You know, I have to admit, when you were introduced as the new gold ranger I thought I was being replaced."

Jason raised one eyebrow. He recalled that Rocky had seemed a little distant. "Is that what all that business with King Mondo was about?" Jason asked, referring to the blue ranger trying to take down the villain all by himself.

Rocky looked at him sheepishly. "Yeah . . . I guess I thought I needed to prove my usefulness to the team. Pretty stupid, huh?"

"Well . . . it probably wasn't the brightest move, but why did you feel like you had to prove anything to your team?"

"Because you're a hard act to follow, man. Since I replaced you, I felt like everyone expected me to _be_ you. It was tough at first. I mean, you're bigger and stronger, smarter, and a better leader than I'll ever be."

"Rocky . . ." Jason started, but was stopped.

"No, let me finish. I thought I had pretty much gotten past all that. I finally realized that I just needed to be myself. But when you came back . . . I guess it reared up again. It was just that I would hear all these stories about stuff you'd done—both as a ranger and not. And I'd actually heard Tommy asking himself what you would have done in a difficult situation when he didn't know exactly what to do. If my commander, who I respect a lot, would do that—it was clear that you must've been one hell of a ranger. It was almost like you could do no wrong."

"Oh no . . . I'm quite fallible. Would you like to hear about some of my complete cock-ups?" He paused and grinned but then gave the blue ranger a serious look. "Everybody has their faults, Rocky. I'm no exception, believe me. I'm headstrong, stubborn, and . . . I have to say, a little selfish. Not to mention a bit obsessive. But you're a great ranger—Tommy had told me plenty of times while I was in Geneva about how well you and Adam were doing and how great the team worked together. And since I've been back, I've seen it firsthand. I think I made a damn good choice when I picked you!" he grinned and reached over, good-naturedly slapping Rocky's leg.

"Thanks, man. That means a lot coming from you."

Both young men came away from that long-overdue conversation with a better understanding of each other—and a stronger friendship.

________________

Once everyone had gotten up and breakfast had been eaten, some of them decided to try their hand at fishing. If they could catch enough, there'd be fresh fish for lunch. Carlos opted to sketch instead, but he stayed close to the others and took some pictures. He had a really good shot of David teaching Alicia how to bait a hook--the look she pulled was priceless, according to Tommy. Better still was the expression as she learned how to clean the fish.

All in all it was a successful outing. They were able to pull in several decent-sized fish that supplemented what was left of their food supply.

While packing up after lunch, everyone agreed that they needed to do this again. Maybe in the Spring, but definitely during the summer before everyone left for college. Everyone except David, Anna, and Carlos, that is. Tommy's brother was currently doing a work study and Carlos was a junior. All of Anna's credits hadn't transferred, so she was technically a junior as well. They'd be staying at Angel Grove High for another year.

Stopping by the ranch on the way home, the gang were convinced by Sam to hang around long enough to have an early dinner and then make their way back to Angel Grove. Everyone had a nice time relaxing and talking in the smallish, well-broken-in home. Sam, with David's help, served them all a nice, homey dinner and even told them a couple of stories when prompted.

"Hey, why don't you talk to Sam about that déjà vu thing while we're here?" Jason suggested to Tommy as they stood studying all the family pictures on the wall.

"No, not with everyone else here. They'll think I'm some kinda nut. I'll talk to him privately about it."

"Okay, but I doubt they'd think you were a nut." He paused. Tommy didn't seem to be paying attention. "Tommy . . . bro, you okay?" He could see that his boyfriend's eyes were glued to a picture of a young couple. "Are those your parents?" he asked gently, touching Tommy's shoulder.

The red ranger reached out and stroked the photo with a finger. "Yeah, Joseph and Elizabeth." He still had that far away look in his eyes.

Jason glanced over and shot a concerned look at David who was standing nearby. Everyone else was occupied with other things, so they didn't notice. The older Trueheart brother moved over behind them, but didn't say anything.

"They watch over David and me, ya know," Tommy said quietly, still touching the picture.

"Yeah, I remember you talking to Sam about it when you were in the hospital," Jason responded softly, his hand moving to his boyfriend's back.

That seemed to snap Tommy out of his daze. "I did?" He stopped and tried to remember.

"Yeah, I was there when you were asking him about it," David said quietly.

Tommy looked confused. His memory was so screwed up. "I don't remember that at all. What I do seem to remember is . . . impossible."

"What? Tell us, Tommy," Jason prompted.

"No . . . you'll both think I'm crazy," the red ranger responded, diverting his eyes from both David and Jason.

His brother shook his head. "No we won't. I've had a lot of weird stuff happen to me. Why would I think you're crazy?"

Tommy still shook his head.

"Bro, you've been seeing Dr. James long enough to know that talking about stuff helps you deal with it . . . or at least figure it out. You know you can talk to us," Jason reminded his boyfriend.

"Yeah, I know, but . . ." Tommy paused and looked over at everyone else that was in the room. "Not now."

"Come here—follow me," David said and motioned for them to come with him wherever he was going. Tommy reluctantly followed and they ended up in David's bedroom. He closed the door, sat in the chair near the bed, and gestured for Tommy and Jason to have a seat on the bed.

"Now, tell us—I promise we won't think you're nuts," he said.

Tommy sighed and stared at his hands that were clasped in his lap. "It's fuzzy, okay?" He looked up at the pairs of eyes that were looking so intently at him. "I can see myself standing under some trees . . ." he paused again and sighed. "I'm talking to them, David."

"I've had dreams like that too," his brother remarked.

"But it doesn't seem like a dream exactly. I mean, I know it couldn't have really happened, but still . . . I don't know. It's all so weird."

"Do you recall what you talked about?" Jason asked.

"Not much of it. I remember them saying that they watch over us—you and me," he said, gesturing between himself and David. "Dad said that I need more watching than you do."

Jason and David both smiled at that.

"The only other thing I recall is that Mom told me how proud they are of both of us."

"Sounds like what Sam told you at the hospital. Think that could have inspired a dream?" Jason asked.

Tommy shrugged. "Like I said, it just doesn't seem like a dream."

"Yesterday you were telling me about riding Eaglefoot bareback on the beach and about that older man that looked like Sam. Was that the same dream or a separate one?" Jason asked.

"Ummm . . . I think it was part of the same one."

"He looked like Sam?" David asked.

"Yeah, but it wasn't him. I know he was much older, but he didn't seem a lot older . . . I'm not making sense." He paused. "His clothes were from a different time. He spoke like he was from a different time." Tommy stopped and looked at David with a confused, pleading expression.

Tommy's brother thought for a minute. "Any idea what his name was?"

"Yeah, but you're not gonna believe me."

"I'll believe you—tell me," David prompted.

"His name was Thomas Trueheart."

David's eyes got wide.

"What is it, David? Who is Thomas Trueheart?" Jason queried.

He looked Tommy in the eyes. "Our great-great-grandfather. He's the one Tommy is named after."

Tommy wore a surprised look. "Really?"

"Yep. I think Sam even has a reproduction of a picture of him. Wanna see it?" David asked, looking excited.

"Yeah . . . I'd love to see if it's him."

"Come on. Let's get Sam's album."

The three of them went back out into the living room looking like they were on a mission. The others looked up when they came back in, but didn't speak. They could tell something was up.

David went to the bookshelf and pulled out a thick, leather-bound photo album and took it over to the kitchen table. Setting it down with a solid 'thunk', he opened the cover carefully and went quickly through the first several pictures.

"There . . . that's him," he said pointing to an old black and white 5x7. "Does that look like the man you saw?"

Tommy went pale. "Oh my god . . ."

Jason got worried by Tommy's sudden lack of colour. He steadied him with one hand and pulled a chair out with the other. "Sit, bro."

Tommy did as he was told. He looked up at David with a thoroughly shocked look. "That's him—the man in my dream. My god, that's him."

David smiled. "Seeing your ancestors in a dream or vision is a good thing, Tommy. It means you're reconnecting, brother!" David said with a big smile and patted Tommy's shoulder.

"It does? So you don't think I've lost it?" Tommy asked sincerely.

"Not at all. So if you saw Grandpa Thomas then . . . maybe you really did see Mom and Dad too." David sat down and looked into Tommy's bewildered face. He put his hand over Tommy's. "It's okay, Tommy. I promise it's a good thing—you're not losing your mind."

"It's not the head injury, then?" Tommy asked with a smirk. He was beginning to understand now. Actually, it was exciting. After so many years of being separated from his birth family, his people, his roots . . . he was finally starting to really reconnect. The way it was happening was a little strange, he thought, but as long as it was happening. He looked up at Jason who was still standing beside him.

"That's really cool, bro. And no, it's not the head injury," Jason quipped.

Before being chosen by Zordon to be part of the original team, Jason probably would have thought Tommy was nuts. Seeing people that you don't know in dreams and them turning out to be relatives was a little farfetched. But in the years since the now gold ranger's service started, his mind had become much more open. He rarely scoffed at anything anymore. He'd just seen too much.

_____________________

The next few weeks at school were going to be important ones for the seniors. Especially for those that hadn't decided on or finalized their plans for college. Dozens of tech schools, universities, and local and state colleges would be sending representatives to try to entice potential students. The Financial Aid office would also be busy helping with paperwork for loans, grants, and scholarships.

Jason, Tommy, and most of the gang would be in those lines. Of the members of the team, past and present, only Billy, Katherine, and Rocky had definite post-high school plans. Billy, simply because he was Billy, Kat because she was going to a private fine arts school about two hours from Angel Grove, and Rocky because with so many in his family he would have to attend the local junior college—at least for the first two years. Everyone else was still searching and filling out application after application.

As will happen with any couple, big decisions can sometimes cause arguments. Tommy and Jason were no exception. Attending the same school was a foregone conclusion, however picking a college or university that they both could agree on, get into, and afford was proving difficult. As a matter of fact, it was the source of the first major argument of their relationship.

Sitting down to try and have a civil discussion about it, they armed themselves with a stack of school brochures, and printouts from the Financial Aid office as well as a map of the state. One thing they agreed upon—they couldn't afford to go out of California.

First off the stack—UCLA.

"What about it? You know it's an excellent school. I can show you around my old neighbourhood and I still remember some of the city—it's a great place. Always somethin' to do . . . Not to mention, we wouldn't have to hide the fact that we're together in LA," Tommy said, trying to entice his boyfriend.

"LA? I don't know, bro. That's an awfully long way from here. Besides, I'm a small town boy—don't know if I could take it."

"College is about getting away from home and new experiences—you'd be fine."

"What about this one?" He held up the booklet from a school in the central part of the state. "It's a really good school—I think we can both afford it."

"Jase, it's a small school and they're very selective about who they let in. I'll never get accepted."

"You don't know that."

"I'm pretty sure of it. Your grades and test scores are much better than mine. Plus, you've got the Peace Conference and all the sports you've played on your resume. Mine . . . not so much."

"At least try—it doesn't hurt to apply."

That one went into the 'maybe' stack. After a lot of discussing and some arguing, they decided on their criteria—it would have to be a public university as neither could afford a private college; it should be in the range of three to four hours from Angel Grove because Jason didn't want to have to drive any further than that to get home—Tommy didn't plan on coming home; it had to be a big enough school so that both could get accepted; and finally it had to have both an excellent science program and an excellent business program to accommodate both of their selected majors. In short, it looked hopeless. They even considered the possibility of going to different schools that were close together so that they could still share an apartment. That proved impossible to find.

"We need to make some sort of decision. The deadline is coming up," Jason reminded Tommy.

"I know that. Too bad we can't agree on anything."

Round and round it went. What with that and the fact that Gasket and Sprocket were running the rangers ragged, along with the pressure of their upcoming end-of-term exams, Jason and Tommy were both edgy and irritable. Their collective frame of mind wasn't exactly conducive to advancing their physical relationship.

Their second attempt at 'celebrating their birthdays' went no better than the first. Again they were interrupted by Gasket almost before they got started.

"Un-fucking-real. I think that bastard is watching us and doing this on purpose!" Tommy had said at the time.

Thanksgiving came and went and before they knew it, the first semester was nearly over. The upcoming Christmas break would hopefully provide a needed rest for all of them.

Both Jason and Tommy were feeling bad about all the disagreements they'd had recently. They really didn't want their first Christmas as a couple to be marred by bickering and ill tempers. They really needed some time to get away and reconnect.

An early Christmas gift came in the form of a phone call from Tommy's Uncle John. Although he didn't know the details, he knew that his nephew had had a rough time lately and could use a pick-me-up.

"Tommy, how would you like to use the lake house during your school holidays? We're not going up there until the weekend after Christmas so that would give you lots of time to use the place if you wanna take some friends up."

"No way . . . seriously?" He knew just the 'friend' he wanted to get away with.

"Sure. The renovations were finally finished last month and you're welcome to it."

"Oh, that would rock! Thank you, Uncle John!" He hung up and immediately called Jason.

"You're gonna love me for this," he said with an audible smile.

"I love you anyway. What's up?"

"I need to talk to you. Mind if I come over?"

"No—come on. I was missing you anyway," Jason answered.

"Yeah—it's been three whole hours since we saw each other," Tommy said sarcastically.

"Too long—come on over."

"Alright. Be there in a few minutes," Tommy replied and headed toward the door as soon as he hung up. It felt good to be able to drive again—it had been so long, he was afraid he'd forget how.

Once he had been let in by Mama Scott, he took the stairs two at a time and entered Jason's bedroom like he lived there.

"Hey! Wait 'till you hear this!" he said and plopped down on his boyfriend's bed, bouncing them both.

"I'm all ears . . . let's have it," Jason replied, smiling.

"Guess who just called me with a great surprise!"

"Kim," Jason said kiddingly.

"Hmpf. I said a 'great' surprise. Seriously, guess."

Jason was amused. He could hear the excitement in Tommy's voice as well as see it all over his face—it was cute. Not to mention a nice change. "I don't know, Tommy. Who?"

"Uncle John. And guess what . . ."

The gold ranger chuckled. "What?"

"He offered to let me use his lake house during the week before Christmas! You and I can go up there and be alone and hang out and whatever for several days if we want."

"I like the 'whatever' part. Think we just might be able to get it together this time?"

"Sex fiend," Tommy smirked and then giggled. "That's not the only reason I wanna go—we need some time to ourselves, don'tcha think? Of course the other would be nice, too." Tommy reached over and squeezed Jason's thigh. "So . . . you wanna go?" he asked with a big grin. He was so excited he was practically bouncing on the bed.

Jason looked pensive. "Let's see . . . alone with you for days on end—in private—in a nice lake house in the mountains . . . hmmm . . ." he grinned. "You know it! When?!"

"As long as it's before Christmas Eve. When's good for you?"

"Well, Mom just told me when I got home that she's throwing a big Christmas party for me and all my friends. I'll have to find out when that is and then we can make plans."

"Cool. Let's go ask her."

Tommy stood up and pulled Jason with him. They bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen, nearly frightening Mrs. Scott out of her skin.

"Boys! You sound like a herd of elephants! Don't rip my stairs down!"

"Sorry Mom," Tommy chuckled.

Mrs. Scott smiled at them both. She loved it when Tommy called her 'Mom'. "Okay . . . I can tell you two are up to somethin'. What gives and should I be scared?"

Jason laughed. "No, nothing like that. We just wanted to pin you down on a date for the party 'cause we're planning something and we need to know."

"Oh well . . . let's look at the calendar," she said and opened the pantry door. "Christmas is on Thursday this year, so . . . what about the weekend before?"

Jason looked at Tommy questioningly. Tommy shook his head minutely.

"Ummm, how 'bout having the party on Tuesday? Everybody'll be shopping on the weekend before," Jason offered.

"With Christmas Eve on Wednesday? Isn't that a bit too close?" Mom asked.

"Not for our friends—I think it'd be perfect," Tommy said.

"Okay, Tuesday the 23rd it is. So, what are you two planning?" She eyed them suspiciously.

"My Uncle John offered to let me and my friends use his lake house for a few days. We're gonna go up there and hang out and enjoy the mountains."

"Ooooh, sounds nice. Who all's goin'?"

Jason shot a look at Tommy. "We're not sure yet. Haven't had time to ask. But even if it's just us two, we'll have a great time."

Tommy smiled at him. _'You know it . . .'_

So plans were made for Tommy and Jason to head up to the mountains on the morning of Friday the 19th and stay through Monday the 22nd.

As far as the college thing went, the boys managed to narrow their school choices down to four—one in San Francisco, one in Salinas, and two in San Jose. Jason wasn't entirely sure about the one in San Francisco and Tommy wasn't wild about the one in Salinas, but they reached a compromise anyway. Applications to the schools were sent and the various financial aid forms were finally done and sent. Now they just had to wait.

Their exams were tough, particularly Trig, but both of them managed to get through without a major breakdown. Their grades weren't in yet, but Tommy knew for sure that he at least passed which was the important thing. Barring something unforeseen, he would graduate on time with Jason, Adam, Rocky, and the whole gang. That was one major worry gone. The mere thought of not being able to go to college in the Fall with everyone else and worse, having to live in his parents' house for another year had been a source of near-panic for the red ranger. Once he was sure he'd be graduating though, his relief was evident to everyone who knew the story.

As the 19th got closer, both Tommy and Jason were getting more and more excited about their upcoming rendezvous. Each wanted the long weekend to be perfect—they were making plans both jointly and on their own. One of the main hurdles for each was finding the perfect gift. They had agreed to exchange Christmas presents in private at the lake house instead of waiting until Christmas Day. Therefore, they had to hurry.

Adam was drafted to help Tommy while Rocky agreed to go shopping with Jason. They were getting along really well and had gotten much closer since their talk on that early morning at the campsite. Tommy was glad to see that.

The shopping was proving difficult, though. Finding something that was appropriate and personal but not terribly expensive wasn't easy. On their outings, Adam had found something for Carlos and Rocky had gotten a nice present for Anna, but Tommy and Jason were coming up empty.

Mama Scott was pulling out all the stops for this party that she was throwing for Jason and his friends. She even had nice invitations printed that she insisted on Jason giving out to everyone, which he did like the good son he was. The guest list was short, but everyone that was invited was close to the gold ranger. Not everyone was on the best terms however. The relationship between Tommy, Jason, and Katherine had never recovered. They could be civil because of all their common friends and they still had to work together, but they honestly couldn't say they were friends any longer.

She was rather curt and cold with Tommy, but would only go so far as he was still her commander. She knew that he could and would toss her off the team if she didn't watch it. But with Jason . . . she was worse. Not that he cared. He hadn't forgotten being accused of being a 'manipulative jerk'. A part of him loved lording it over her that Tommy chose him instead of her—he would purposely engage in some public affection with the red ranger just to piss her off.

The other 'fly in the ointment' was Kim. She had called Tommy once more and tried to get him to talk to her about his relationship with Jason. While he could somewhat understand her confusion and curiosity, he didn't feel like it was really any of her business. He kept a civil tongue in his head however, and they hung up without her getting on his bad side _or_ weaselling any information out of him.

Problem was, she was back in Angel Grove for the holidays and both Tommy and Jason knew they wouldn't be able to completely avoid her. As it turned out, avoiding her wasn't the problem.

Her second day back in town, Kim walked into the Youth Center just to see who was hanging out. She was a little afraid that she'd bump into Tommy and Jason, but to her delight, she spotted Tanya and Kat sitting with two girls she didn't recognize. As she approached their table, she could overhear bits and pieces of their conversation.

"Oh it'll be lots of fun! And Mrs. Scott's cooking is amazing," Tanya said excitedly.

"Rocky sure seems up for it," the unknown blonde said.

Kat suddenly spotted the former pink ranger headed their way. "Kim! Oh my god . . ." she squealed and jumped from her seat to go and greet her friend.

They hugged briefly and Kat invited her to join them at the table. Kim hugged Tanya and pulled up a chair.

"Alicia, Anna, this is Kimberly Hart. She's a good friend of ours who has been in Florida training for the Pan-Global Games in gymnastics. Kim, this is Alicia and Anna. Anna is dating Rocky and Alicia is going out with Tommy's brother David."

"Really? Well, it's nice to meet you both. So what were you guys discussing before I got here?"

"Oh, Jason's mom is throwing a big Christmas party for everybody—Tanya was just saying how much fun it'll be," Kat informed Kim.

"That's nice of her. She's such a sweet lady," Kim replied. She really didn't know what else to say to that. Considering the state of relations between herself and Jason, she wasn't sure he'd want her there.

"Kim, you know that everyone would love to see you. Why don't you come?" Tanya asked.

"Well, I really haven't been invited, ya know. I don't wanna crash."

"You wouldn't be crashing—I really wish you would come," Kat said, giving her a look that said she wanted to talk to her about it in private.

"We'll see. So, you're dating Tommy's brother, huh?" Kim directed at Alicia.

"Uh huh. We've been going out for almost two months now."

"I'd love to meet him. I was in Florida when Tommy found him and I haven't had a chance to come home until now."

"Wanna see a picture?" Alicia offered.

"Sure," Kim answered quickly.

Alicia pulled a picture from her purse and handed it over to the former pink ranger. Kim looked down to see Alicia standing in between Tommy and another guy that couldn't be anyone but his brother.

"Wow . . . they look so much alike that it's spooky," she said and continued to stare at the picture. "Where was this taken?"

"On a camping trip last month," Alicia answered.

"That's where Rocky and I met. It was an interesting trip . . ." Anna said and grinned.

Kim looked at Tanya and Kat. "You two went camping? I don't believe it."

"No, we weren't on that trip. Just David, Rocky, and these two ladies, plus the two 'happy couples'," Kat said, making quote marks in the air with her fingers.

"Happy couples?" Kim asked before she thought.

"Jason and Tommy and Adam and Carlos," the pink Zeo ranger said a little louder than she probably should have.

"Kat! Not so loud . . . that's not public knowledge," Tanya chastised her.

Kat put her hand to her mouth and pretended to be surprised that it came out at that volume. "Ooops . . ." she said somewhat sarcastically.

Anna and Alicia glanced at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Ummm . . . anyway . . . so what's David like? Is he anything like Tommy?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, I think so. He's a little older, but they have a lot of the same traits. It's weird considering they've only known each other a little while," Alicia told her.

Kim was still looking at the picture. She couldn't help noticing two things about Tommy—how good he looked and how happy he seemed to be.

"Kim used to date Tommy, by the way," Kat informed Anna and Alicia.

"Really?" Anna said, thinking how different the petite gymnast was from Tommy's current significant other.

"Yeah, but that was a while back," Kim said and returned Alicia's photo to her.

The conversation turned to what Kim had been up to and how her training was going. After a while, Kim and Kat excused themselves to the restroom.

"Kim, I really wish you'd come to the party. It would be nice to have you there."

"But you know that I'm not really getting along with Jason or Tommy at the moment. It would be very awkward. Besides, I haven't been invited."

"Like you need an invitation. You're part of our group, even if things aren't going well between you and them right now. Everyone else would love to have you there. Mrs. Scott would love for you to come, I'm sure."

"I don't know, Kat. I'll think about it. The last conversation I had with Jason was not good. And by not good, I mean he practically chewed my face off."

"That was at the hospital when he was so stressed over Tommy. I'm sure he's gotten over that by now. Anyway, he and I don't really speak anymore anyway. You can hang out with me."

Kim thought it over for a minute. She really would like to see the whole gang and she didn't have any plans until Christmas Eve. Maybe if she just steered clear of her big brother and her ex-boyfriend it'd be okay. Hopefully seeing them together wouldn't affect her as badly as she feared.

"Let me sleep on it—I'll let you know tomorrow," Kim replied. "Now, tell me what's _really_ been goin' on . . ."

____________________________

At long last, both guys found the gifts they'd been searching for. Adam and Rocky were sworn to secrecy by their shopping partners and they each promised not to breathe a word. They did tell each other though.

All the plans had been made and everything had been packed. Both Tommy and Jason were very excited and a little nervous about their upcoming trip. The night before, Tommy was in his room making sure that he had remembered everything when his mom walked in.

"You about ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm just making sure I've got enough clothes. It's cold up there."

"So, it's just you and Jason that are going. Isn't that a bit odd?" she asked. Her tone made him look up. The look she wore was hard to define, but there was definitely a tinge of suspicion.

"Not really. The friends that we wanted to go with us couldn't get away. They had family things to do for Christmas—stuff like that," he answered, hoping that she'd just leave it alone. No such luck.

"I see. So . . . what are you and he planning to do for four days alone?"

'_Okay. I hate that accusing tone. What does she think she knows?'_

"Not sure. Probably watch some movies, enjoy the fireplace, maybe go for a hike . . . why?"

"Just wondering. Well, I'll let you get back to what you were doing. You behave yourself up there, you understand?" She gave him a somewhat stern look.

"I always do. Whatever it is that you're worried about . . . don't. I'll take care of Uncle John's place—you have my word."

"Okay. Just so we're clear."

"Crystal."

He groaned to himself and continued to check over the things he'd packed.

'_Five more months to graduation—just five more months . . .'_

Before going to sleep that night, he called Jason just to talk. They often did that—nearly falling asleep before they'd finally hang up the phone. He told his boyfriend about how his mother had been acting and that he wasn't sure, but he thought she might be suspicious. Jason told him not to worry about it right now—just concentrate on how great their trip was going to be.

To get Tommy's mind off his domineering mother, Jason gave his boyfriend a little verbal preview of what was to come when he got him alone up in the mountains.

"I just hope we can make it all the way up to the cabin before I start tearing your clothes off," the gold ranger said.

"Same goes for you, bro. We haven't been alone together in so long . . . I'm tired of flying solo."

"Well don't you do it tonight. You save it all up for me—tomorrow. I promise I'll drain you dry."

Tommy chuckled. "Oh really? Well I've been studying up and I've learned a few new things I can't wait to try out on you. I'm gonna have you begging . . ."

"Mmmm . . . I can do that. Just hope you have breath enough to beg for more after I get through with you," Jason said in his deep, sexy voice.

Tommy could feel himself getting hard as he listened to his lover describing what he was going to do to him. A little phone sex is always a good way to get up for a trip.

________________________

_Author's Notes: Again, sorry this is late. I'm trying to get used to a new work schedule and it's kicking my butt. Hope it was worth the wait._

_Obviously, the next chapter will have our boys getting into all kinds of mischief at the lake house. There will probably have to be a cleaned-up version as well as a NC-17 version. If any of you wonderful perv- . . . uh, people have any suggestions for specific mischief—I'm open. Just message me._

_A couple of chapters back, I gave some recommendations for current stories that I'm enjoying. Here's a short list of completed or mostly completed stories that, I think, are definitely worth your time._

"_More than Friends and Brothers" by Dagmar Buse_

"_Metamorphosis" and "Le Reve" also by Dagmar Buse (available on AdultFanFiction dot net)_

"_The Zedd Chronicles" which include "A Green Nightmare", "A White Dream", and three others by Baby Kitty_

"_Ordinary" also by Baby Kitty—This most fantastic story has the plainest name._

"_Friends Care" again by Baby Kitty—Just go read all her stuff, okay?!_

"_Hey Baby" by The Girl in the Red Jacket_

"_Believe In Me" by In this world live all worlds—This story along with "Hey Baby" paint Jason as the weak/hurt one instead of Tommy—makes a nice change. Amazing stories, both of them._

_Okay, those will keep you busy for days on end. I've pulled a few all-nighters reading some of them—just couldn't stop._

_Until next time . . . May the power protect you!!_


	31. Mountain Rendezvous

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes:** My most sincere apologies for making everyone wait so long for this chapter. Major thanks to prophet144 for her indispensable help and support!

Because of the subject matter, I had to designate part of this as NC-17. Anyone who would like to read the full chapter please send me an _honest_ statement of age through email or private messaging on this site and I'll be glad to send it to you. My email address can found on my profile page. For non-members, you may put your email address in your review, if you like.

**Chapter 31—Mountain Rendezvous **

The alarm clock had only sounded for a few seconds before Tommy slapped the top of it.

"Shut up," he grumbled. "It can't be 8 already . . ."

It had been a hard night. First, he had gotten upset at his mom for her thinly veiled accusations, then Jason got him all hot and hard with the phone sex—those two things plus the sheer excitement about the trip would've been enough to keep him from sleeping well. But no . . . that wasn't enough.

About 3 am, his communicator had gone off. Gasket had launched one of his night time attacks. The rangers still weren't used to fighting at night. Neither Rita nor Zedd liked to attack after dark. Maybe they were lazy or just liked their sleep, but they never really caught on to the fact that the rangers were at a disadvantage at night. Maybe they were just too stupid. In any case, Gasket, and King Mondo for that matter, used the rangers' handicap to their advantage. They knew that even with Billy's modification to the zords' power supplies, they were still primarily run on solar power and night time attacks were usually fairly successful.

The battle had been a long one and while no one was seriously injured, a few of them were quite bruised and banged up—Tommy and Jason included. The ranger commander's body ached as he pulled himself out of bed and headed for a hot shower. Those three or four hours of sleep just hadn't been enough.

Once under the hot spray, Tommy examined the damage.

"Owww," he hissed as he pressed on a large black mark on his right thigh.

'_Damn cogs. I gotta remember to take some muscle rub with me. I wonder how Jase is.'_

Jason had taken a couple of pretty hard blows and while he'd seemed okay afterward, Tommy knew how good his boyfriend was at hiding pain. He decided to call him as soon as he got back to his room.

At the Scott household, the gold ranger had been busy getting dressed when his cell phone rang.

"'Mornin'. How're you feeling?" Tommy asked.

"Hey, not bad—a little sore, but we should be used to that. Got a couple of nice welts for my trouble. What about you?"

"Me too—got some bruises, but overall I'm fine. What time you gonna be here?"

"About 9, I guess. We're taking Dad's Suburban, by the way. He checked the weather forecast for the mountains and it's gonna be snowing all weekend. The Mustang won't make it."

"Snow?! Cool! I was hoping to see some while we were there. Wonder if we can manage to get snowed in up there?" he chuckled.

"Maybe, if the forecast is right."

"Guess I'd better bring my ski jacket and gloves, huh?"

"Yep. And make sure you have your hiking boots. I'd really like for us to go for a long walk in the woods while we're there."

"That'd be nice—we'll definitely do that. Anything else I need to bring?"

"No, just your hot self and some warm clothes. Oh . . . and don't forget we decided to exchange gifts this weekend."

"I remembered. It's already packed. So I'll see you in about a half hour?"

"Yep, can't wait. See you soon."

Hanging up, Jason finished checking over his packed bag and then went to help his mom with the food. She had offered to make some reheatable dishes for them and also got some frozen stuff they could microwave. They should have plenty to eat for the weekend.

"Thanks Mom—we really appreciate this."

"You're welcome, Honey. Promise me that you boys will be careful this weekend."

"We will. We're not gonna be doin' that much—hangin' out at the cabin and maybe goin' hiking. We'll be fine."

"And please be careful driving. You don't have much experience driving in snow. Just go slow, okay?"

Jason smiled and hugged her. "I will—I promise. I'll call you when we get there. Don't worry."

The Suburban was packed and Jason gave his parents another hug. "Don't worry. I'll call."

He could see that they were anxious about him driving in winter weather, but he didn't know what else to say to ease their minds. "We'll be fine. Love you!" he said as he backed out of the driveway. Now to pick up his lover and head off for some long-overdue alone time.

Ten minutes later he pulled up into the Olivers' driveway and was somewhat surprised to see Tommy coming out the door, duffle bag in one hand and his coat in the other. He had an ugly look on his face.

'_Uh oh . . . wonder what happened. He was fine thirty minutes ago.'_

Almost before the truck had stopped moving, Tommy was opening the back door and tossing his stuff in. Two seconds later he was in the passenger seat almost slamming the door.

"Let's go . . . now," he said in a deep voice and sat with his eyes closed, trying to calm himself.

Figuring it was best to just do as he was told, Jason put the truck in reverse and got out of there quickly. Tommy would fill him in when he was ready. Taking the highway east, he kept quiet and just drove, glancing over at his boyfriend every so often. After about 10 minutes, the red ranger finally spoke.

"Sorry. Not a very nice way to start off our trip. I just had to get myself together there for a little while."

"It's okay—you know I understand." Jason reached over and grasped Tommy's thigh. "You wanna tell me or just let it go?" he asked gently.

After a deep sigh, his boyfriend related what had happened between the time they spoke on the phone and the time he picked him up.

"She comes at me with this fake concern, trying to be all motherly. 'You don't need to be going up there with it snowing. You've just gotten healthy again and I don't want you to have any setbacks,' she said in that annoying voice. Why does she even play like she cares? It's obvious what she's doing. She doesn't want us to go off together."

"You really think she knows something or just suspects?"

"I don't know," he said in a disgusted tone. After a pause, he continued. "How would she have found out? Unless . . ." he suddenly had a terrible thought.

Jason caught the look on his face. "What? What are you thinking?"

Tommy's voice was filled with dread. "You don't think that . . . no, surely she wouldn't do that . . ." he said cryptically.

"Who? What? I can't read your mind."

"Kat. You don't think she'd stoop to telling my parents about us, do you?" As much as he disliked the Olivers, he did have to live there for a little longer. His life would be hell if they found out now. His expression had changed from one of annoyance to one of worry.

The look on Jason's face matched Tommy's. "Surely not. I mean, telling Kim is one thing, but she wouldn't . . . I can't believe that she . . . ah damn, Tommy. You think she told 'em?"

"She better not have." He stopped and thought. "I'll tell you one thing though—if I find out she did you better hold me back. As much training as I've had, I really don't know if I'll be able to control myself."

"Better find someone else to restrain you—I'll probably get to her before you will. There won't be enough left to identify . . ."

Tommy sat and quietly thought for a minute. "But ya know, I really think that if Mom knew, she wouldn't be beating around the bush like she is. I think she'd just blow up at me and probably tell me to get out. I'll bet she's just fishin' for information. But I'll tell you something else she said. When I told her that I'd be fine and that I had packed enough clothes to keep warm, she tried another tactic. She said, 'Tommy, maybe you shouldn't spend quite so much time with Jason. People are gonna start to think there's something going on between you two.'"

"She said that?"

"Yep—nearly word for word."

"What did you say?"

"I told her that I didn't care what people thought—you are my best friend and I'll hang out with you if I want to. She said, 'You know how these small town people are.' I told her that if mine and your relationship is all they have to worry about then they need to get a hobby."

Jason grinned. "I agree, but Tommy . . . we're gonna have to be careful. I don't know why, but she's got this idea in her head—we don't need to prove her right."

"True. Anyway, after all that, I just got fed up and stomped out of the house just about the time you showed up. Great timing, by the way."

"Let's just enjoy ourselves this weekend. No one will bother us, I hope, and we can just be alone and . . . well, whatever we decide to do," Jason said with a wicked grin.

"Damn, that reminds me. I need to talk to Zordon about them not calling us unless it's an emergency. I'd better go ahead and do that."

He lifted his communicator to his lips and made contact with the Power Chamber. The red ranger informed Zordon where they were going and asked respectfully that if it could be avoided, that they not be bothered. Zordon, of course, knew of the relationship between his red and gold rangers and knew that they needed some time together. He promised to respect their privacy unless the situation was completely out of hand.

After speaking to their mentor, Tommy yawned and settled down a little into the seat.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" he asked.

"Not enough—probably 4 hours. What about you?"

"About the same. Damn, I'm tired."

"You still sore?"

"Oh yeah, I got a beauty of a bruise on my thigh, right about here," he said and placed his fingers in a circle on his upper right leg indicating the size of the injury.

"Wait till you see my chest—I've got a black mark the size of a baseball on my right pec. That bitch hurts."

Tommy wrinkled his nose. "Ouch. Well, I brought some muscle rub and other stuff that'll help. I'll give you some when we get to the cabin."

A sly grin slowly spread across his boyfriend's face. "I know you will . . . I'm countin' on it!" Jason said in a low, sexy voice.

Tommy chuckled and shook his head. "You sex fiend."

After a good laugh, they felt more at ease and a bit happier than they had been just mere minutes before. They settled into a conversation while they drove, helping to pass the time on the four-hour drive.

"Damn T., was that your stomach makin' all that noise?" Jason asked after hearing a loud growling sound coming from Tommy's direction.

"Yeah . . . I didn't get a chance to eat this morning."

"Didn't get up in time?"

"No, I got up when the alarm went off. I was about to find something for breakfast when Mom started in on me and I kinda forgot about eating after that."

"Ah, well . . . we'll have to get you some food then. Whatcha want?"

"I'm okay—don't worry about it."

"No, you need to eat. You're gonna need all your strength this weekend and I don't want you getting all weak and headachy on me," Jason said with a grin. He really was concerned about Tommy eating enough and not skipping meals. While he had gained almost all of his weight back, it wouldn't take long to lose it again if he didn't eat right.

They left the highway at the next exit and went through a drive-thru to get some warm food for the red ranger. Jason decided to get something too. They ate as they drove further east and continued talking about their trip, Christmas, and the upcoming semester—the last of their high school careers.

After about forty-five minutes, Jason looked over to find his lover fast asleep in the seat beside him. He had gotten full, warm, and comfortable—not a good combination when you're already worn out. He had nodded off almost in mid-sentence.

"Just can't stay awake if the drive is more than an hour, can ya?" he said quietly with a laugh and reached over and stroked his boyfriend's dark hair. He had to smile—Tommy was so adorable when he was asleep.

Several minutes later, the gold ranger noticed that his lover looked uncomfortable. He kept shifting slightly and from the position he was in, he was probably going to wake up with a serious crick in his neck. The road was beginning to wind a bit more and Jason knew that the closer they got to the mountains, the curvier the highway would get. Any swerves at all and Tommy would get thrown around. He decided to make a quick stop and fix this situation. He needed a pit stop anyway.

Stopping at the next rest area, Jason pulled a pillow out of the back and brought it up to pad the console between the front seats. Gently, he coaxed Tommy into a half sitting/half laying down position with his head on the pillow. He looked so much more comfortable now. Jason gave his head a stroke and then went to take care of business before getting back on the road.

Three hours and one nap for Tommy later they had decided to stop for a quick lunch. They were only about a half hour from the cabin now and big, fluffy snowflakes were falling all around them as they walked through the parking lot of the little family diner.

"I love snow. I wish we could live somewhere where we could see snow more often," Tommy said as he held out his hand to let a big snowflake come to rest on his palm.

"Yeah, me too. Tell you what—when we both graduate from college and get six figure jobs, we'll move to Aspen. How 'bout that?" he grinned.

"Or you could take me to Switzerland."

"I could do that . . ."

'_Not a bad idea, actually. I wouldn't want to live there, but I'd love to show him some of the places I visited while I was there.'_ He made a mental note to look into that.

They were seated at a table quickly and in no time they'd ordered and gotten their drinks.

"You shouldn't've let me sleep so long, bro. Sorry I dozed off on ya," Tommy said, knowing he was going to get ribbed for it.

"Oh, it's okay—you're worn out. Besides, I know you can't stay awake if the drive is more than an hour," Jason said with a smirk.

"That's not true. Just because I fell asleep on the way back from the drive-in and on the way up here doesn't mean I get comatose as soon as I get in the passenger seat!"

"Yeah, uh huh. Whatever you say."

"Oh shut up. How long did you say I was out anyway?"

"Only about an hour—a little longer than one CD," Jason grinned.

Tommy smiled sheepishly. "Sorry . . . but at least I'm nice and rested up now." The smile turned into a wicked little grin as he scooted around in the semi-circular booth until he was a lot closer to his boyfriend. Because of the camouflage that the tablecloth afforded him, he ventured a little feel and grab. Jason only smiled when he felt his upper thigh being grasped through his jeans.

"I'm glad you're rested up—like I told you before, you're gonna need your strength." He paused, but then said quietly, "We'd better be careful, we've got an audience." He indicated with his eyes the table not too far from theirs.

Tommy turned his head and looked in that direction. The two teenage girls sitting with their parents turned away as soon as they made eye contact, but the giggling could be heard loud and clear.

"They're cute," the red ranger said and grinned at his boyfriend.

"Wanna invite them over?" Jason said kiddingly. "They're a little young, but . . ."

"No, that's okay. You're plenty for me."

He was about to elaborate on that when their food arrived.

"Mmmm, this looks good!" Jason exclaimed as they dug into their lunch. Tommy agreed as the conversation came to a halt while they ate. They were hungrier than they'd realized and so made short work of their burgers and fries. The clutch and grab play continued under the tablecloth, though.

"Let's get going, huh? I'm anxious to get you alone," Tommy whispered when they had finished eating.

"Sounds good—you ready now?"

"Yep."

Back out in the parking lot, the snow had continued to fall and was beginning to get fairly thick on the trees.

"You know, we really might get snowed in up here. Seriously," Jason said as he looked around at the landscape.

"Is that a problem? Wouldn't bother me at all," Tommy said. "As a matter of fact, sounds like one of my best dreams."

Jason smiled back at him. "Oh really? Do tell . . ."

"I'd rather show you—let's get to the cabin."

Tommy was a bit more impatient than that, though. Once they were back on the road, he slid over as close as he could get to Jason and began whispering in his ear.

"You want a little preview?" he asked, rubbing his hand across his boyfriend's stomach and placing soft kisses on the side of his neck.

Jason chuckled. "Sure . . . but nothing serious. I'm not used to driving in snow. Distract me too much and we won't make it to the cabin!"

Tommy grinned. "Okay. I won't get you too hard . . . just enough to be fun!" he breathed into his lover's ear, his hot breath sending electrical charges down Jason's spine.

Leaning on the console with his left arm, he used his right hand to caress, tickle, grasp, and rub his boyfriend's body. He pulled Jason's shirt loose from his jeans and found his way under it, enjoying the feel of his smooth, warm skin. His hand ventured up and began to tease the sensitive nipples it found there. Jason inhaled sharply with the first pinch, feeling himself growing more and more aroused.

Tommy grinned. "When I get you alone in that cabin I'm gonna kiss . . . lick . . . and suck . . . every inch of you until you're shivering and begging," the red ranger whispered in a low, sultry voice, punctuating his statement with wet kisses to Jason's neck and jaw line.

The gold ranger took a shaky breath and tried to keep his eyes on the road and his hands on the steering wheel. "I can beg—I'm not too proud."

"Mmmmmm," Tommy hummed against his boyfriend's jugular as his free hand slid south. Once it reached blue jeans, the long fingers made short work of the button and zipper. Delving inside the athletic boxers, the red ranger gently massaged and fondled his lover's sex until Jason rose up slightly, thus allowing the jeans to slide down a little. With the increased access, Tommy was able to firmly grasp the silk-covered steel rod and begin to stroke. After only a couple of minutes, the gold ranger couldn't take anymore.

"Uhhh . . . Tommy," Jason moaned. "Easy . . . I'm tryin' to drive here," he said while breathing heavily.

"Okay . . . I'll back off a little," he replied, reluctantly letting go of his boyfriend's erection and returning to simply caressing his stomach and chest.

At the next stop, Jason turned into the parking lot of a convenience store. Tommy turned to look.

"Wanna continue here?" he grinned, biting playfully at his lover's neck.

"No . . . I just thought we should fill up the gas tank before we get to the cabin. There's no telling what the weather will be like Monday when we leave."

"Good point," Tommy said, capturing Jason's mouth in a warm, wet kiss as soon as the gold ranger had parked the truck beside the gas pumps. "Better zip your pants before you get out, though," he chuckled, stroking his hand across the crotch of his lover's jeans.

Jason grinned and did just that before opening the driver's side door. "Wanna get anything from the store?"

"I might. You want something?"

"Nah, just hurry back. I'm ready to get to the cabin!" the gold ranger said with a grin and hopped down out of the Suburban.

Tommy got out and went into the store in search of his weakness—Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. He tried not to eat too much sugar, but there was something about those things that he couldn't resist.

Locating the candy aisle, he quickly loaded himself up with three of the long, 4-packs and then picked up some Snickers bars for Jason—those were his favourite. Laying it all down on the counter, the young lady at the cash register had to giggle.

"You must have one heck of a sweet tooth," she said with a smile.

Tommy grinned. "It's not all for me. The candy bars are for him," he replied, pointing out the window at his boyfriend.

"Oh, I see. You guys live around here?"

"No, we're staying at my uncle's lake house for the weekend."

"Well, be careful driving and have a Merry Christmas," she said cheerily, handing him the bag.

"Thanks, you too."

With that he walked back out to the Suburban and put his purchase in the front seat, taking out one of the packs of Reese's. He stuffed one of the candies into his mouth and stepped over to where Jason was still filling the tank.

"Man, this monster takes a lot of gas. No wonder Dad doesn't drive it very often," the gold ranger remarked.

"Want one?" Tommy asked, holding up the long, orange package.

"Sure."

The red ranger took out another of the round, chocolate-covered treats and placed it in between his lips, offering half of it to Jason with his eyes. His bro grinned and looked around quickly to see if anyone was watching and then leaned in and wrapped his lips around the other half. He paused momentarily and then bit down, taking the part that was his. They both grinned and licked their lips. A few seconds later, Jason laid a quick but warm kiss on his lover's mouth and gave his ass a fast grope.

As they pulled back, they realized that they weren't alone. A car had pulled in on the other side of the pumps and the teenage boys who had gotten out of it had seen the kiss. However, it wasn't until Tommy turned around that they realized that the tall figure with the long, dark hair was another guy. They stared almost in disbelief at what they'd witnessed.

"Crap," Jason muttered under his breath as the strangers continued to gape at them and slowly moved away from their car. "Let's go."

He put the cap back on the gas tank and pulled his receipt from the pump. Tommy, however, wasn't moving. He seemed intent on staring them down—he was almost daring them to say something.

"Tommy, come on," the gold ranger said, anxious to avoid a confrontation.

"Yeah . . . I'm comin'," the red ranger answered without taking his eyes from the four young men that were getting increasingly close to him. His hands were clenched and his jaw was set.

Seeing this, Jason wasn't about to leave him to face them alone. He walked up and stood beside Tommy, making himself appear as intimidating as he could. Together they stared silently at the four, not wanting to fight but ready to defend themselves if necessary. However, the strangers must've decided that they didn't want to take them on because with a couple of words between them, turned and headed toward the store.

The red and gold rangers weren't about to move until they were sure nothing was going to go down, so they remained where they were, staring a hole through the boys' backs. As a couple of them turned back to shoot a condemning look, Tommy had had enough.

"You got somethin' to say—say it!" he said and lifted his hands in a challenging gesture. They just turned and continued toward the door.

"That's what I thought," the red ranger called to them and turned to get in the truck.

Jason moved around to the driver's side and got in, starting the engine and shifting into drive. "Hot head," he muttered with a chuckle and drove toward the main road.

"Well . . . we don't have to take nothin' off them," Tommy said in his own defence.

"I know, but that doesn't mean we have to ask for it either."

"Look, if I want to kiss you in public then I'm gonna do it, damn it. Especially up here where no one knows us and can't tell our families. I refuse to hide out like a leper," he declared.

Jason had to smile. Not too terribly long ago, he thought that his bro could never return his feelings. Now he was willing to fight for the right to kiss him in front of God and everybody. It was sweet.

"Okay, I know what you're saying, but it's not like you to provoke people."

"I'm just tired of taking shit, that's all."

The gold ranger knew that his lover had taken more than his share of crap in his short lifetime and had a right to be defensive. He had seen him become more and more confrontational as he worked through his issues with his adoptive family. Dr. James had even warned Jason that he needed to keep an eye on Tommy--his temper could potentially cause him problems. Jason thought that his boyfriend's martial arts training would keep him from getting into trouble, but he was beginning to have his doubts.

"Let's just forget about it and concentrate on having a good time, okay?" The gold ranger figured that there was no reason to continue the discussion.

"Yeah, okay."

"We should be there in a few minutes and then we can relax and have a good time."

"I know." Tommy was still on edge—it was taking him several minutes to calm down.

Jason just drove. He knew his bro would get over it as soon as they reached the cabin. About twenty minutes later, they were pulling up into the gravel driveway of their destination.

"This is a _cabin_?" Jason asked, amazed at the size and appearance of Uncle John's little hideaway in the mountains.

"Well, it's actually a lake house, but we've always called it 'the cabin'. John said that the renovations were just recently finished—looks like they did a nice job. I can't wait for you to see it inside."

'_There—that sounds more like my Tommy,'_ Jason thought. "I'll say. I was expecting something a little more . . . I don't know . . . rustic."

"Well let's get in there and see how it looks. I haven't been up here in a while."

From the outside, it looked more like a mountain chalet than a lake house. There were lots of large, clear windows that faced the lake and it looked to be very roomy.

Tommy went to the door and took out the key that Uncle John had dropped by his house for him. Opening the door and disarming the alarm, he went back to help Jason unload their things from the Suburban.

"It still smells like fresh construction in there. We might have to air the place out a bit," Tommy said as he reached the back of the truck.

"No problem. Let's get the food inside and put away and we can open some doors and windows."

They did exactly that, with Tommy giving his boyfriend the grand tour.

"Wow, it's even bigger than it looks on the outside. Look at the size of this living room!" Jason said in amazement.

"Yeah and I love the fireplace. I think it's one of my favourite things about this place."

It was quite impressive. Made from local mountain rock and having an artisan-crafted wrought iron screen, it stretched across most of one wall.

"Wow, it'll take a whole tree to get that monster going!"

"Not quite . . . but close. Let's see the rest of the house. There're three bedrooms upstairs and two bathrooms . . ." he stopped as he got to the top of the stairs. "Well . . . it used to be like that, anyway."

Upon a little more investigation, he discovered where most of the renovations had taken place. There were now only two bedrooms upstairs—the other had been taken over by the new master suite.

"This is the big bedroom, I think," Tommy said, opening the door to peek inside. "Wow! Now I see why it took the contractors so long to finish! Look at this!"

With the extra room taken from the other bedroom, Uncle John had had the master bedroom turned into a real suite—complete with massive new picture windows, a walk-in shower, and a huge whirlpool tub.

"Awww man . . ." Tommy muttered in awe as he looked at the beautiful new room.

Jason was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "We're gonna make gooood use of this!"

"Yes we are . . ." he said in a low, sultry voice and took his boyfriend in his arms. "I'm so glad we were able to come up here alone."

After gazing into each other's eyes for a few moments, their lips met in a warm, tender kiss. It quickly became deeper, hungrier, and much more intense. Hands roamed free and fast as they tried to find naked flesh to caress. Coming up for air, Tommy made a proposal.

"Let's get the rest of the stuff into the house and then we can continue this, okay? The doors downstairs are standing wide open."

Jason grinned. "Okay, but we're not gonna take a second longer than we have to to get it done."

Tommy smiled at his somewhat impatient boyfriend. "You got it. I'm dyin' to strip you down anyway."

Moving quickly down the steps and back outside, they both grabbed their duffle bags and carried them into the house. After dropping them in the living room, they headed back out to get some of the other stuff that they needed.

"We need to go ahead and make the bedroom more comfortable," Tommy suggested. "You did bring that stuff I gave you, didn't you?"

"Yeah, it's in this bag," Jason replied, indicating the extra duffle bag he carried.

Tommy had brought some things over to his boyfriend's house a couple of days earlier so that his mom wouldn't discover them and start to ask questions.

"Let's go get that done and then we can finish unloading the truck."

Heading back upstairs, the boys started pulling things out of various bags to get the bedroom ready for when they decided to 'get down to business'. They pulled the sheets off the bed and remade it with ones that Tommy had brought from home. That way they didn't have to worry about washing the ones that Uncle John kept there. They also pulled out several tubes of lube and small hand towels that they placed on the two nightstands. Jacques had suggested to Jason that Handi-Wipes might be useful, so he had gotten a small package of them and brought it along. Some bottles of water were also set out.

Once the bedroom was ready, Tommy and Jason went back out to get the remaining stuff from the Suburban. As Jason exited the back door several steps behind Tommy, a large lump of snow that had been building up on the eve picked that very moment to let go. It came down on the gold ranger, covering his head and shoulders in white fluff.

Tommy heard him yelp and turned to see his lover wiping snow from his face with a surprised expression. It was all the red ranger could do to stay upright. He burst out laughing and was nearly bent double when Jason reached him.

"Oh . . . think that's funny do ya? Let's see how funny you think this is," he said in a mock menacing tone and leaned over to grab a double handful of snow. Tommy knew what was coming and took off running for the truck, finding temporary shelter on the other side. Once there, he armed himself with a hastily made snowball of his own and waited for his opportunity.

Jason's first shot whizzed by his head, barely missing its mark. Tommy was next—he fired one that would have hit home if not for the former red ranger's excellent reflexes. Just as the ranger commander was rearming himself, his boyfriend nailed him in the back with an expertly-timed round.

"Awww, you're gonna get it now," he said, getting ready to retaliate.

"Bring it, big boy."

Tommy did just that. With a snowball in each hand he blitzed him, launching both shots almost simultaneously. One hit Jason's leg and the other his chest. Tommy just kept running, taking cover behind the huge woodpile that was stacked against the house. A little more fleet footed than his boyfriend, he managed to get away and shield himself from Jason's next couple of shots. Just as he got close though, Tommy ran again and turned back long enough to throw another snowball right at his head. Jason barely managed to avoid that one and just kept running, so Tommy had to do the same. They played cat and mouse around the truck for a couple of minutes.

"I'm gonna grab you by that hair and slow you down," Jason said, starting to get a bit winded. He wasn't used to these cold temperatures and high altitude.

"If you're gonna pull my hair, it better be for some other reason than to smack me with a snowball!" Tommy yelled from the other side of the Suburban's large hood.

A couple more times around the truck and Tommy started to take off for the house, but he slipped just enough to make him have to slow down to regain his footing—it was his undoing. Jason took him down with a full-on football tackle and they rolled a couple of times in the snow before coming to a stop. The gold ranger fought for position and eventually came out on top, pinning his boyfriend. Before Tommy could say anything, Jason sealed their mouths together, effectively cutting off any protest.

Once the struggling had stopped, he grasped his boyfriend's long tresses with one hand and laid his other along Tommy's neck and jaw line. They explored each other's mouths in detail, moaning and grasping at the irritating clothing that separated them.

When oxygen became a necessity, Jason broke the kiss and looked down at his mate. "Wanna give me a reason to pull that hair?" he asked with a thoroughly wicked grin.

"Oh yeah, but not out here in the snow. What say we take this upstairs?" Tommy responded and rose up enough to capture Jason's mouth in his.

"Mmmm-hmmm," he responded while sucking on his boyfriend's lower lip.

All at once, Tommy shivered hard—and not from passion. "Okay, I'm freezing here. Let's go in."

The gold ranger dismounted and helped him up, brushing some of the snow off his back and making sure to take a couple of swipes at his ass. They started toward the door together, anxious to get warm again. Tommy gave a fleeting thought to the stuff they had left in the truck, but decided that it could wait. They had more important things to take care of.

Tommy led Jason up the stairs, their fingers entwined. The gold ranger couldn't help but notice how his lover's snow-soaked jeans clung to every curve of his tight ass and strong thighs. With every step and flex of a muscle, Jason grew more and more aroused. Once in the master suite again, Jason turned and pulled Tommy close, kissing him deeply.

"Let's get you out of those wet clothes before you catch your death," he said once the kiss had ended. Tommy just nodded. He started to undress himself, but Jason stopped him.

"Oh no . . . that's my job. After all, I'm the reason you're wet and shivering," the gold ranger said, letting Tommy's damp hair trail through his fingers.

Smiling but still shaking slightly, Tommy ran the fingers of one hand along Jason's jaw line and then dropped his arms in a show of surrender.

"Well . . . get on with it then," he said in a low whisper.

Jason ran both hands slowly up his lover's chest and then started unbuttoning his shirt, taking his time as he worked his way down. Once open, he pushed it back off of Tommy's shoulders and dropped it to the floor. Then he turned his attention to the t-shirt. He grasped it and pulled until it came loose from his jeans and then proceeded to push it up his chest with one hand running along each side. The red ranger raised his arms, allowing his shirt to be stripped off of him and it was dropped on the floor with the other. Jason rubbed the muscular chest he had uncovered and placed small, gentle kisses all along Tommy's collarbone.

"Mmmmm . . ." he moaned and let his head drop back as his boyfriend held him steady with strong hands on either side of his waist.

Those same hands began to slip down and around until they latched onto the front of Tommy's jeans that were wet from being pinned down in the snow. The button and zipper were quickly opened and the gold ranger slid his warm hands in and down until he firmly grasped his boyfriend's tight but cold ass.

"Damn, you _are_ cold," he said in a quiet voice.

"Mmm-hmm," Tommy nodded slightly and caught Jason's lips with his own, slipping his hands under his shirt and finding warm, smooth skin.

He then began to pull up and got a little help in removing his boyfriend's shirt. They pressed their bare chests together and momentarily caressed each other's backs. Those jeans had to go though, so Jason resumed his task of removing the damp ones that Tommy wore. He peeled them down his lover's long, strong legs and left them in the floor, adding to the growing pile of clothes there.

Tommy soon followed suit and they were left in each other's arms wearing only boxers.

"How about we christen that new walk-in shower, hmmm?" the red ranger suggested as they caressed each other's bare, cool skin. "That'll warm us up."

"Sure . . . and there's lots more room in there than there is in mine at home," Jason replied. "Let's go."

They quickly pulled shampoo, body wash, and other necessities out of their duffle bags and once in the bathroom, rapidly lost their last shreds of clothing. Tommy began to search for some towels while Jason started the water and they met up under the warm spray a minute later.

"Okay, where were we?" the gold ranger asked as he pulled his boyfriend to him and latched onto his neck.

Tommy chuckled. "Right about there."

The hot water felt so good and did indeed warm Tommy up faster than most anything else would have. Manoeuvring around so that both of them stayed under the showerhead, the two young lovers behaved as though they were getting to know each other's bodies for the first time. Hands tenderly stroked across the planes and curves of muscular chests, stomachs, shoulders, backs, thighs, and asses. Mouths kissed, nipped, and sucked amid groans of pleasure. Hips ground and bucked against their counterpart, allowing their erections to rub against each other causing a delicious friction.

After several minutes of this, Jason slowly pulled back from his lover and locked his midnight eyes with Tommy's. The fire he saw there made him shiver with desire. Positioning his boyfriend so that his back blocked the spray of water, he sank to his knees and grasped Tommy's firm backside while nuzzling into the nest of wet, black curls in front of him. He felt fingers running through his hair as Tommy took hold of him—the red ranger couldn't stand not to be touching his lover.

Jason caressed the silk-covered shaft with his cheeks and placed a warm kiss on the head, delving into the slit with his tongue. He tasted the first drops of his boyfriend's seed there and it caused a surge of passion through his body that he couldn't deny. Hungrily, he took nearly all of Tommy into his mouth at once, sucking and caressing the underside with his tongue.

"God Jase," his lover exclaimed breathlessly and tightened his grip on the gold ranger. He had expected Jason to go slow and easy like he usually did—his boyfriend's eagerness caught him off guard.

"Mmmmm," Jason hummed around the treat he held in his mouth, the mini-vibrations causing electricity to shoot up Tommy's spine.

The groans of pleasure that he heard and felt coming from his lover worked to keep the gold ranger rock hard as well. Suddenly, an idea hit him. He momentarily released Tommy's shaft, eliciting disappointed sounds from the man he held. He grinned up at him letting his boyfriend know that he wasn't finished, just adding another element.

"Hand me the soap," he said and Tommy complied, watching as Jason thoroughly coated the fingers of one hand with the slippery liquid.

Settling back down into position again, Jason once again took Tommy deeply into his mouth and established a slow rhythm. Once his lover had begun to move and gently thrust with his oral manipulations, Jason sought out and found the hot channel he was seeking.

Very gently he slowly inserted a slick finger, moving only as far as Tommy would let him. Once his lover had relaxed enough to allow Jason to move in and out with the rhythm he'd established with his mouth, he carefully inserted a second finger.

"Ahhhhhh . . . ohhhhh," Tommy groaned at the dual stimulation, getting closer and closer to the pinnacle.

Jason carefully worked his fingers in and out, stretching and pleasuring his lover. As he felt Tommy's body stiffening, he increased his efforts—sucking harder and moving faster. That was all it took to push the red ranger over the edge and he came hard with a loud exclamation of his lover's name.

Jason drank his essence like a fine wine and when there was none left, he reluctantly let go of his treat and stood to support his boyfriend. As they kissed gently, Tommy detected the taste of his own seed in his lover's mouth—it sent sparks of renewed passion through his body.

"Mmmmm . . . Jase," he moaned and firmly rubbed the strong body in his arms. "You ready for me to return the favour?"

"Oh yeah . . . always ready for that."

Tommy grinned wickedly and turned Jason so that his body blocked the warm spray. Locking eyes with him, he slowly sank to his knees and followed Jason's lead . . .

As the gold ranger was recovering from the mind-blowing orgasm he'd just experienced, his lover removed one hand that had been holding and caressing him and reached back to turn off the water. Before they could start to get cold, Tommy grabbed a towel from the rack and began to dry Jason off while placing warm kisses in various places.

When he was mostly done, Jason took a fresh towel and started to do the same for him. As he was working on drying Tommy's long, thick hair, they sealed their mouths together and allowed their tongues to dance around each other.

Several minutes later, Tommy decided it was time to move to the bedroom and get on with things. He pulled back from Jason and, taking him by the hand, led him to the foot of the bed.

"So have you given any thought as to how we're gonna do this?" Jason asked as they stood in each other's arms.

"Mmm-hmm," Tommy replied while nodding slightly and smiling. "Lay down with me."

Slowly crawling up onto the bed and lying side by side, each man began to rub and caress the naked body in front of them. Hands roamed free while they kissed, nipped, and sucked at each other's mouths.

Eventually, Tommy reached over to the nightstand and picked up the bottle of massage oil. He gently pushed his lover onto his back.

"I thought this might help to relax us a little," he said, pouring some of the oil into his palms and rubbing them together to warm it. He then straddled Jason's legs and placed his hands on his stomach.

"Now just lay back, close your eyes, and enjoy okay?" the red ranger whispered as his hands slid up toward his boyfriend's chest.

Jason nodded and grinned, closing his eyes. "Mmmmmm, that feels good," he said in a low, quiet voice.

"It's gonna get even better . . . I promise."

"I'll bet . . ."

Tommy worked his way up his lover's torso until he reached his broad shoulders where he applied more oil and gently rubbed around the bruises that Jason had received in the battle early that morning.

"Ouch . . . I'll bet that _does_ hurt," he said, gingerly touching the baseball-sized bruise on his right pec.

"A little, but I'm trying to ignore it," Jason answered.

"I'll be careful," he said as he placed a small kiss on the blackened spot. He then started moving back down Jason with the intention of working on his thighs, but he had to pause when he noticed how delicious his lover looked laid out before him. The low light of the room caused the massage oil to glisten and emphasize every curve and cut of his toned, muscular body.

"Damn, bro . . . you look good enough to eat," Tommy whispered in appreciation.

A small grin appeared on the gold ranger's face. "Be my guest," he said without opening his eyes.

"I may do just that."

The red ranger slid down a little and, after pouring more oil into his hands, began to massage and knead Jason's powerful legs.

"Mmmm, wow . . . Tommy," he moaned. "You have such talented hands," he said with a grin.

"My mouth's not bad either," the other man quipped and leaned in for a long, wet lick from the base of Jason's erect shaft all the way to the tip. Once there, he lingered a bit, lavishing some attention on the throbbing member.

When he felt Jason getting close to the edge, he let go of his treat and sat back up. His boyfriend groaned in disappointment.

"Don't worry, the best is yet to come. Turn over, baby," Tommy requested in a sultry voice.

Earth's first red ranger did as he was asked, but was surprised when his boyfriend stretched out beside him. As oil was poured onto his back, Jason smiled and closed his eyes again. Tommy propped himself up on an elbow and massaged and caressed with his free hand. All at once, his lover hissed and jumped a little. Sitting up to investigate what he'd done, the red ranger saw the line of small bruises that had appeared along Jason's left shoulder blade.

"Sorry, bro. I didn't know those were there."

"Neither did I. It's okay."

Tommy resumed his position beside his boyfriend and began to kiss around the back of his neck until he reached his waiting mouth. His free hand was still busy drawing lazy circles and figure 8s all over Jason's back. After a few minutes of this though, he proceeded to carefully delve into the hot channel that lay below the small of his back. The gold ranger jumped a little at the initial contact, but quickly settled down and continued to kiss his lover.

The former green ranger gently stroked with his oil-covered finger, coaxing the opening to relax as much as possible before he ventured inside. When he felt Jason was ready, he slowly inserted a finger and began to stretch and prepare his lover. He soon decided that he needed more lube and grabbed the tube of KY that sat on the nightstand. The gel had more staying power and wouldn't absorb into the skin as quickly as the massage oil had.

After coating his fingers, he reinserted first one and then a second, trying to ensure that his lover was ready for him.

"Ohhh, Tommy," Jason panted as he became accustomed to the stimulation and had relaxed into it.

That was all the sign that his boyfriend needed. Tommy got up and positioned himself in between Jason's thighs while continuing to move his fingers in and out.

"Jase, hand me that pillow," he requested in a quiet voice and reached up to receive it. "Now lift your hips."

Once the gold ranger complied, he slid the pillow under Jason's hips to make the angle better. Feeling his lover relax once again, he scissored his fingers a little and smiled at the groan that this brought forth.

'_This is it. We've been waiting a long time—I hope nothing goes wrong,'_ Tommy thought. He took a shaky breath, realizing how nervous he was.

"Jase . . . are you ready?" he asked in a tentative whisper.

"Uh, yeah . . . I think so," the other man replied. It was obvious by his voice that he had a case of the nerves too.

"I'll be real careful, I promise."

Jason nodded. "Go ahead."

****NC-17****

Nothing was said for long minutes, but both men wore smiles. They had finally gotten there—it had taken long months of waiting and a few false starts, but they had finally made love. While a bit uncomfortable and a little clumsy, it was wonderful. They basked in the afterglow of their first time and just enjoyed the feeling of each other's bodies. Already they felt closer—more bonded.

It was this that was on Jason's mind as soon as coherent thought returned. Tommy rolled off of him and went into the bathroom, returning quickly with a warm washcloth. He cleaned himself up and then handed it to Jason, allowing him to wash up. Tommy then tossed the cloth at the bathroom floor and slid back onto the bed, pulling up the covers. They assumed their usual sleeping position—spooned together with Tommy behind Jason. The gold ranger briefly thought about all they had been through together and how it had culminated in what they had just shared.

Just three short months ago, Jason was sleeping on the floor of the ICU Waiting Room, praying that his bro would live through the night. He had desperately wanted to tell him how much he loved him and was afraid that death might take his beautiful Tommy before he got the chance. Now, lying entwined with the man of his dreams, he couldn't help but get a little emotional.

He ran his hand down the arm that was draped over him and intertwined their fingers. "I love you, Tommy. You know that, right?"

The red ranger smiled warmly. "Yeah, I know. And I love you too."

"What made you decide to take control like that?" Jason asked. The two times they had tried before only to be interrupted the gold ranger had been the one in the dominant position.

"Well, things hadn't worked out the last couple of times so I figured we needed to change things up. Glad nothing bad happened this time."

"I guess Gasket's fuckin' radar doesn't work this far up in the mountains!" Jason quipped.

It took a couple of seconds, but both men realized what he'd said at exactly the same time. The laughter that burst from each of them served to dispel any remaining tension or nervousness.

"You're a head case, you know that?" Tommy laughed and pulled the gold ranger closer to him.

Jason raised their clasped hands up to his lips and kissed his lover's hand. "Yeah, but I'm _your_ head case. What say we take a little nap and then we'll see what other mischief we can get into later?"

"Sounds perfect."

_____________________________

_Author's Notes: The boys' escapades will continue in the next chapter. Hopefully, it won't take me as long to get the next one out!_

_New pictures from Anime Mid-Atlantic are up on Facebook and MySpace: link to my MySpace page is in my profile. The special guests were Johnny Yong Bosch and Eyeshine! Johnny is a real sweetheart! Check out my photos! And check out his band at Eyeshine dot net or on itunes!_

_In other news, prophet144 and I are working on a story __starring__ Tommy and Adam called "Misery Loves Company". The first chapter should be up fairly soon. If you like "In His Eyes" by me and "Family Stands" by her, we think you'll really enjoy our collaboration. Keep your eyes open for it!_

_And as always, please remember to review!! Reviews are the only tool a writer has to measure his/her ability and the feedback is always appreciated!_


	32. Mountain Rendezvous Part 2

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes:** I want to make a sincere apology to my regular readers. I never intended to go three months without updating this story. Please forgive me.

Major thanks to prophet144 for her indispensable help and support! You're the best, Sis!

**Warning!** Contains mild to fairly explicit sexual encounters between two male characters. If you're easily offended, hit that 'Back' button now. This is your only warning. This chapter has, however, been edited for mature content. If you'd like to read the full-on version, email me.

**Chapter 32—Mountain Rendezvous Part 2**

Waking about an hour later, Jason looked down to find Tommy's arm still draped across his waist, the two of them spooned together. With his head against the brunette's muscled chest, he could hear the regular rhythm of his heartbeat and the soft sound of his breathing. He couldn't help but smile.

Just as he was about to reach up and kiss him, he suddenly had a thought. He would sneak out of bed and surprise his boyfriend with dinner and a nice fire in that huge rock fireplace. All he had to do now was get out from under Tommy's arm and leg without waking him.

Shifting a little at a time until he managed to work his way free, he froze for a moment as Tommy mumbled something and turned over.

"Whew . . . that was close," the gold ranger whispered to himself as he finally got free of the bed sheets and found his boxers. He silently left the room and crept down the stairs to get some food together for them. His stomach was already growling.

Pulling out a granola bar to tide him over until he could get dinner ready, he decided to go ahead and build the fire and get that out of the way. Luckily, there was already firewood in the living room and extra stacked up on the back porch in easy reach. He wouldn't have to get dressed and go out into the cold.

Once that was done, Jason studied the containers of food that his mom had put together for them. "What do we want tonight? Ah, this is it!" He had decided on a pasta dish and now he set about warming it up and making something to go along with it.

The house was so quiet that it was getting to him, though. The sound of the crackling fire was nice, but he was used to having music on when he was doing most anything. Walking out into the living room, he turned on the stereo and found some Christmas music he liked.

'_Not too loud, don't wanna wake up T. just yet_,' he told himself and set the volume just loud enough to where he could clearly hear it in the kitchen.

As he was waiting for the oven to heat up, Jason got the plates and silverware together. He noticed that when he moved a certain way, he got a distinct reminder of what they had been up to earlier. Grinning madly, he thought to himself, _'Well, if ya gotta have a sore ass . . .' _

Leaning across the counter, he was temporarily lost in thought about the man sleeping just upstairs. _'I am so glad I waited to have my first time with someone that I really, truly love . . . it means so much more. Don't think I'll ever forget that, no matter how old I get. And for it to be with Tommy . . . I am so lucky. If one thing had gone wrong in the last few months—his recovery, his feelings for me—this never would have happened.'_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the preheat timer on the oven. After sliding the dish into the warm oven, he busied himself getting the rest of dinner ready. Suddenly he noticed that one of his favourite Christmas songs, "Jingle Bell Rock", was now playing on the radio. Being in such a good mood, he started dancing around the kitchen, not paying attention to the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

Tommy had woken up a few minutes before to find himself alone in the big bed. After taking care of business in the bathroom, he had ventured downstairs to see what had become of his lover. He heard the radio playing before he even got all the way down the steps. Now he stood leaning against the doorframe, staring into the kitchen, arms folded across his bare chest, watching Jason dance around in his boxers fixing dinner.

Finally, he had to say something. "You know, the last time I saw something like that it was in 'Risky Business', but you're much cuter than that other guy," he announced while wearing a big grin.

Jason stopped dead in his tracks and put down the dishes he had been holding. The blush started at his forehead and crept down until even his neck was glowing. Tommy walked over and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist as they both had a good laugh.

"You know I'm a Christmas nut . . . I can't help myself," Jason said. He reached up and placed a kiss on Tommy's lips.

"I know, I know . . . which is why I have something for you that I think you'll really like," he said with a wink and a grin.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Hang on—I'll go get it," Tommy said as he pulled free from his lover's arms and headed upstairs to retrieve the 'something'.

Upon his return, he handed the wrapped package to the gold ranger with a grin. "Go ahead, open it. We'll consider it an early Christmas present," he said and leaned against the kitchen counter to watch.

"Do you want to open yours now? I'll go get it," Jason asked before starting to open the brightly wrapped box that he held.

"No, that's not your main gift—just a little something extra I picked up."

"Oh . . . okay," his boyfriend answered and set the small box down on the counter to begin untying the bow. Once he had that off, he slowly started undoing the wrapping, taking care not to tear it.

Tommy was getting impatient. "Oh would you just tear into it already?! You're killin' me!"

Jason grinned at him. "Alright, alright," he replied and ripped the remaining paper off but paused as he took hold of the box top. "Is this something obscene or at least naughty?"

"What makes you think I'd do something like that? Do you _want _it to be naughty?"

"Well . . . I just wanna know if I can show it to my mom or not," he grinned.

"Yeah, I think you could. I mean, she's open-minded, right?" the red ranger replied with a lewd grin.

"_My _mom? Open-minded? Uh, no."

"Rex, if you don't go ahead and open that box I'm gonna take it back and not let you see what the hell is in there!"

Jason laughed and then proceeded to pull the top from the smallish white gift box. He carefully pulled back the tissue paper, almost afraid of what he was going to find.

A big grin split his face when he finally saw his present. "I _love _it!!" He pulled the red silk boxers emblazoned with "Ho Ho Ho!" across the back from the box and saw the Santa hat that was attached. "Thanks! I forgot to bring my hat up here!" he said and immediately pulled in on over his spiky dark hair.

Tommy was all smiles. "You like them then, I take it." Jason nodded enthusiastically.

"Then go put the boxers on, I want to see them on you."

"Alright. If the timer goes off, pull the dish out of the oven."

Tommy nodded and watched his lover disappear into the bathroom only to reappear a couple of minutes later wearing the new boxers and the Santa hat. When he got back into the kitchen, he did a little turn worthy of a model.

"So . . . whatcha think?" the gold ranger asked with a playful grin on his face.

"Nice. They fit just like I hoped they would. The "Ho Ho Ho!" arches right across your ass and that bow on the front sits in just the right spot," he said with a wink. The bow in question was a white gift bow that was printed on the front of the boxers and was positioned to sit right at the base of the wearer's cock.

Tommy stepped forward and slid his hands around Jason's trim hips and cupped his tight, round ass firmly. Leaning in to kiss his lover's neck, he whispered, "Mmmm, I love the feel of silk . . . especially on you."

Jason sought out his boyfriend's full lips and captured them with his own, letting the kiss deepen almost immediately. His hands skimmed across the broad shoulders and up into Tommy's long, mussed hair. Their bare chests moved slightly against each other, causing a wonderful friction.

However, before they could get carried away, the oven timer went off signalling that dinner was ready.

"We'll continue this later . . ." Tommy whispered.

"Oh yeah . . . you know it," Jason replied.

They both fixed their plates and headed toward the table, but a moment sitting on the hard, wooden chairs had Jason thinking better of it.

"Ummm . . . could we sit in the living room? These chairs are a bit hard," he said with a grimace.

Tommy gave him a quizzical look. "Are they?" When Jason nodded and rubbed his ass, his boyfriend got the picture. "Oh! Okay," he said when the light dawned and he gave him a concerned glance. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay . . . just a little sore in places."

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No. I'm okay, really. Just sore." He paused and then winked at his lover. "You're gonna find out soon enough . . . promise."

Tommy smiled and chuckled. "Okay. Let's eat in the living room—the sofa's much softer."

Moving into the other room, they set their plates down and started to get comfortable on the couch that was facing the fireplace. Just then, Jason remembered something else he had brought to make this weekend special.

"Hang on . . . nearly forgot about one of _my_ surprises," he said happily, as he hurried back into the kitchen. Re-emerging minutes later, he held up a bottle of white wine and two glasses.

"Where did that come from?" the ranger commander asked.

"I brought it up with me. You like wine, don'tcha?"

"Sure. Haven't had a whole lot of it, but I trust you to pick out something good."

Jason smiled and poured a glass for each of them and then took his place on the couch.

"Did you sneak it out of the house or something?" Tommy asked.

"No, Mom said it was okay as long as we weren't leaving the cabin. We regularly have wine with dinner, you know that."

"Yeah, I know. I guess it just surprises me that your mom would trust you like that. I know mine wouldn't . . ."

"She has no reason not to trust me. Your mom really should give you the benefit of the doubt more often. What have you ever done not to deserve some trust?" Jason asked.

Tommy shrugged. "I don't know. Don't think she really needs a reason. Anyway, let's not talk about her—I want to enjoy myself."

Jason nodded and they turned back to their dinner. As they ate, they watched the snow falling thick and deep out on the back deck. The view was really quite beautiful.

"Oh, did I tell you about the hot tub? I think it's still there," Tommy said.

"No, you didn't. Is it out back?"

"Yep—right out there on the deck," his best friend said, pointing with his fork.

Jason cocked an eyebrow. "Now that sounds like fun. Up to a little water play?"

"First we'll have to see if there's any water in it. Because of the remodelling, no one's used this place in months. I'll go look after I finish eating."

"Cool. If not, we can always fill it and turn on the heater. It'll be ready by tomorrow."

"Speaking of tomorrow . . . you still want to go for a hike, right?"

"Oh yeah, I think it'll be fun, don't you? It's so beautiful up here with everything covered in snow."

Tommy smiled warmly. "Yeah, it is." He gazed around the cabin and then added, "I'm sure Uncle John will let us use this place again—provided we don't tear it down." He gave his boyfriend a wicked grin.

"No promises . . ." Jason quipped with a wink.

Once they had finished eating and sharing some good wine, they walked over to look out on the back deck. Tommy flipped on the porch lights and pointed over to one corner.

"Over there, see it?" he said, indicating the aforementioned hot tub.

Jason looked sharply over to the right and saw the thing that Tommy was pointing at. "Wow . . . big, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's plenty big enough for at least six people." The Red Ranger stopped and thought for a minute. "Ya know, I think I should call Uncle John and make sure it's okay to use it. Be right back."

With that, he located his cell phone and called to get permission. Once that was done, he rejoined Jason in the living room.

"It's cool. Uncle John said to go ahead and fill it—just make sure we cover it and turn the heater off when we leave."

"Can do. So . . . I guess we'd better get dressed and go out there and get it started, huh?" Jason asked.

"Let's have dessert first," Tom said as he slipped his arms around his lover's trim waist. He leaned in and started kissing a line from Jason's jawline, down his neck, and across his shoulder.

The Gold Ranger ran his hands up and down Tommy's toned back as he enjoyed what the other man's mouth was doing to him. "So, I guess this makes me dessert, huh?" he said with a grin.

Tom enveloped his mouth in another slow, deep kiss and then pulled back a bit. "No, we'll have actual dessert first . . . then we'll see what other mischief we can get up to. Sound good?" he asked while sporting a wicked grin.

"Uh huh. Works for me. One question though . . ."

"What's that?"

"Who's going outside to get the roasting sticks for the marshmallows?" Jason grinned.

"Toss you for it."

Sighing at having lost yet again, Jason went upstairs to get dressed so that he could go outside and get some sticks and also start filling the hot tub.

"You know how to start the water?" the Ranger Commander asked when his boyfriend came back over to the French doors than led out onto the deck.

"Yeah, I'm sure I can figure it out. I've had a little experience with these things as a lifeguard, ya know."

"Alright. Don't get too cold," Tommy added with a grin and swatted Jason's ass as the Gold Ranger went out the door into the snow.

"You want some snow down your shorts, smartass?" he quipped as the glass door was closed in his face. Tommy stood inside, warm and laughing at him. That earned the Red Ranger a certain obscene finger gesture.

While Jason was out getting them sticks, Tommy went to the closet where he thought his aunt kept the big floor pillows. Finding them, he also spotted the Christmas decorations that were kept there. Grinning, he decided that they needed to get a tree while out on their hike the following day. It would be a nice surprise for his boyfriend.

After taking the pillows back and putting them on the floor by the fire, he went upstairs to grab the sleeping bag they had brought. The flannel comforter had gone on the bed earlier and he didn't feel like using that.

Unzipping the sleeping bag, he spread it out over the pillows. Moving over to the radio, he found a channel that was playing instrumental versions of classic Christmas songs and turned it down low. Room by room, Tommy went around and turned off the other lights. A last stop in the kitchen had him gathering the rest of the s'more supplies, the bottle of wine, and their glasses. Taking that out, he went back one more time for some water before turning out the lights and going over to the fire to wait for Jason.

Chuckling softly when the Gold Ranger came back in shaking snow from his head, he had to ask the obvious question. "Cold?"

"Yeah, just a little." He looked around at the preparations that his boyfriend had made while he was outside in the snow. "It looks awfully cozy in here...nice."

"Figured that since we're having dessert out here, there was no reason for the other rooms to be lit." He grinned. "Besides, the fire makes it so much warmer." He stood up and walked over to Jason and taking the sticks from him, he set them aside. "Now, how about we get you back into the proper attire for our evening?"

Jason grinned and nodded slightly. "Excellent idea. Gonna help me?"

"I think that I could be persuaded."

The Gold Ranger pulled his gloves and jacket off and then sat to take his boots off. Left in his jeans and sweatshirt, he looked at his lover with a raised eyebrow. "So...whatcha waiting for?"

Tommy chuckled softly. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe a lap to sit on?"

Moving over to his boyfriend, he straddled the denim-covered lap and leaned forward, kissing him softly before biting gently at his lower lip. His hands moved down to Jason's waist and took hold of the hem of the shirt before starting to pull it up. When he got to the dusky nipples, he paused and broke the kiss to lean down and take one in his mouth.

"Mmmm..." Jason moaned and continued to rub the muscular thighs that held him tight. As Tommy moved from one nipple to the other, Jason's head fell back to rest on the couch while enjoying what his boyfriend's talented mouth was doing.

Tom finally pushed the shirt off, letting it fall to the floor and freeing his hands. Standing slightly, he forced his lover's legs apart a bit more, then knelt between them. While his mouth continued his assault on Jason's turgid peaks, he undid the jeans that held his treasure captive.

Jason's hands moved immediately to Tommy's long, thick hair and he gazed downward at what his lover was doing.

Looking up through his lashes, Tom grinned at him, then sat up a bit. "Raise your hips." When the other man complied, he slid the denim over the muscled legs before letting it pool on the floor. Grinning, he leaned in and gently nipped the inside of Jason's left thigh, as his hands begin to caress the toned skin. One hand slid up the silk boxers and gently grasped the hardened shaft. "Hmmmm, seems someone's paying attention."

"Ummmm yeah, kinda hard not to," Jason whispered. "Come 'ere." He gently coaxed Tommy's head upward and met him halfway in a soft, wet kiss that intensified after a few seconds.

Tommy sighed into his mouth, hands moving around to gently caress the strong back. When the need to breathe became important, he sat back a bit with a groan before resting his forehead against Jason's. "Feel up to actually making some s'mores? Or do you want another form of 'dessert'?"

"Why can't we have both? S'mores now and the hotter 'dessert' afterward?" he suggested while stroking his boyfriend's shoulders. "Besides...we may need the sugar for later . . .," he added with a wink.

Tommy chuckled softly. "Think I've created a monster." He leaned in for another kiss. When they again broke, he got to his feet before holding out his hand to Jason. "Come on, let's sit over here by the fire."

Sliding off the plush couch and onto the pillows that Tommy had set out, the two started the process of making one of their favorite treats. Marshmallows firmly planted on sticks, they moved the fireplace screen aside enough to allow them access to the softly crackling fire.

Jason couldn't help the soft chuckle that left him as he watched his lover set another marshmallow on fire. "You know, black is not the color you should be aiming for."

"I know...the damn things are so freakin' flammable though!"

Tommy leaned over and took another one from the bag and handed it to his boyfriend who placed it on the stick. Covering Tom's hand with his own, he guided the treat-laden stick to just within the heat of the fire, without actually letting it touch the flame.

Tommy watched as Jason carefully turned the marshmallow over some of the redder coals, keeping it away from the actual flames themselves. Slowly, the white becomes a soft tan. While he's doing this, the gold ranger has also put a square of chocolate on a graham cracker half, then set it close to the fire. When Jason finally pulled the now perfectly toasted marshmallow back and adds it to the bottom half of the cracker, the chocolate has started to melt. The top of the graham cracker was put into place, squeezing the center of the marshmallow out a bit as the stick was removed. Grinning, he held the sticky treat out to his lover. "Try this."

Leaning forward, Tommy took a bite and then smiled. "Good--you're very talented."

Jason noticed the bit of chocolate that remained in the corner of his boyfriend's mouth and moved in close. "Thank you. I have all kinds of talents, actually." He then slowly and carefully licked just the corner of Tommy's mouth, removing the chocolate. Then he licked the other corner for good measure.

Groaning, Tommy then shivered at the sensations. "So I'm learning." Grinning, he sat back a bit. "Care to impress me further with your masterful skills with a marshmallow?"

"I'd be more than glad to, hand me another one." Tom once again leaned over to take another bit of fluff from the bag, but stopped suddenly midway. "Owww," he said sharply and grimaced while grabbing his lower back.

Jason frowned and moved closer, placing a hand on his lover's hip. "What's wrong?"

Stretching up a little and still frowning, Tommy said, "I don't know--my back just tightened up on me." He rubbed at it with one hand. "Must have been the battle last ni-- I mean, this morning."

Jason placed a soft kiss on his neck. "Let me help you onto your stomach and I'll go get the muscle rub. Should help loosen it up a bit."

"Mmmhh," Tommy moaned. "Okay."

Jason took him by the arm and helped his lover lower himself onto the pillows, face down. "I'll be right back." Once upstairs, Jason quickly located the muscle rub and grabbed the massage oil as well. On his way out of the bedroom, he noticed the lube still sitting on the nightstand. "Hmmmm...why not. Could come in handy."

Tommy tried to relax as he laid there, waiting for Jason to return. He closed his eyes, opening them again when he felt the cushions sink a bit beside him. "Did you find it?"

"Yeah, I got everything. Now just relax...I know what I'm doing." Tommy nodded and closed his eyes again, willing his back muscles to loosen.

Jason straddled his lover's thighs before opening the muscle rub. "This might be a bit cold, but I don't want it to lose any of his power by warming it in my hands first. Now, tell me where it's the worst."

Tommy sighed. "My lower back, close to the small of it. Trust me, I'll let you know when you get there."

"Okay, I'll try to be gentle at first." As he applied the rub to Tom's skin, the Red Ranger jumped at the feeling of cool cream on his back. "Sorry...told ya it was a bit cold," Jason whispered from his place over the top of him.

" 's okay," Tommy said.

Using sure, gentle strokes, Jason started to work the rub into his lover's skin. "Tell me if it's too much." Months of doing this for each other had given him a pretty good knowledge of how the other teen's muscles should be. He frowned when he hit a spot only a few inches from Tommy's spine that had him flinching from Jason's touch. "Do you know if you turned wrong or took a hit?" He started working the muscles around the area, trying to get them to loosen.

"I'm...well, I'm not sure. I don't remember getting hit in the back, but you know how it is--you don't always remember every hit you take." He paused for a minute and tried to just enjoy the feeling of Jason's strong hands on his skin. "Mmmmm...that feels good until you hit that one spot. Is it bruised?"

Jason leaned down a bit to take a closer look. "Not yet, but the muscles are really tight. If it's deep, it may take a couple days for it to show up. So no over-reaching for a couple of days. Least not where you're twisting as well."

He worked the area for a bit more until the rub was thoroughly worked in. Then, grinning slightly, he pulled the bottle of massage oil from the edge of the pillows that rested close to the fire. The contents were warm, but not hot and he opened it, letting some of the warm oil trickle onto the muscled planes of his boyfriend's back. "Let's see how this makes you feel." Letting his strokes deepen slightly while easing up when he came to the sore spots, Jason started to work the oil in--he watched the fire cast a warm glow onto his lover's oil-slicked skin.

While Jason continued to massage Tommy's back, he could feel himself growing harder. Straddling his lover's thighs and occasionally rubbing against that tight, firm butt was making him think of other things besides easing his partner's aching muscles. Leaning forward, he placed a kiss between his shoulder blades as he moved his weight to his knees. "Lift your hips for me."

Sighing softly, Tommy complied. He'd felt his boyfriend becoming aroused and was hoping that as the massage continued other things might happen. Now it seemed that he wasn't going to be disappointed.

When those trim hips rose, Jason pulled the boxers off and tossed them to the side before grabbing a bit more of the massage oil. This time, he began working on the tightly muscled thighs. At the same time, he let his strokes wander upwards to knead the firm buttocks. After a while, he applied a bit more of the oil, letting some of it drizzle between those twin globes.

Tommy gasped softly when his lover stroked his puckered opening, barely brushing the outside. As that hand drifted back down, a finger began circling the muscle and he forced himself to relax only to groan softly when the oil-coated digit slipped inside him.

"Do you like that?" The Gold Ranger asked, slowly working his finger in and out of that tight orifice. Reaching over, he grabbed the bottle of lube from where he had placed it and pulled his finger partially out, coating it and another with the thick gel, he slid both long fingers inside, preparing his lover. He was taking his time because he was nervous and the small trembles that ran through his lover every once in a while told him that Tommy was a bit nervous as well. _'Jacques did say that it never hurt to take your time with the prep work. Just need to make sure Tom's relaxed before I really try to enter him myself.'_

"Oh yeah." He moaned deeply when Jason added the second finger, then looked at his partner over his shoulder. "I want to watch you Jase, please."

"Okay." Pulling his fingers out, he helped Tommy roll onto his back, bending down to capture those soft lips for a kiss. As he slipped his tongue into that warm mouth, he returned his fingers to their job of stretching his lover out.

Groaning, Tommy pulled his lover's head down, entwining his tongue with Jason's as those delicious fingers worked in and out of him. He arched his back and tried to drive himself down more as they scissored and opened him for Jason's cock. The thought of having that thick rod piercing him had Tommy momentarily tightening up. But slowly, he relaxed again. _'Jason would never hurt me on purpose. Just have to relax like I told him.'_

Taking his time, Jason left Tommy's mouth and began to travel down the body he knew so well. Their months of make-out sessions had taught them both the spots that would turn the other to putty. Now was time to make use of that knowledge.

The Gold Ranger paused to gently lave at a dusky nipple, teasing the bud to hardness before biting down gently and applying suction. When the body beneath him arched upward, he added another finger and crooked them slightly. Releasing the nipple, he made his way over to the other and repeated the action, chuckling softly when a soft mewl was draw from the current leader when he began flicking the hardened nub with his tongue.

"God, Jase. I need you... please." Tommy's voice was husky with his need and desire.

"Patience, love." He kept moving downward, pausing to dip his tongue into his boyfriend's navel and drawing another moan. Grinning softly, he finally reached his destination and placed a soft kiss to the head of Tom's weeping cock. When he drew the crown into his mouth, his tongue sought out the essence-bearing slit and removed the slightly salty prize. His fingers stilled their actions, but remained within the other man as Jason moved to the base of the hard cock in front of him and slowly traced the vein on the underside. Reaching the top, he slowly took it into his mouth.

Tommy barely stopped himself from thrusting into his boyfriend's mouth when Jason swallowed his hot shaft in one move. "Oh shit . . . mmmmm . . ." His hips bucked upward when the fingers buried in him began to move once again and rubbed against his prostrate--his breaths were starting to come in short pants.

Jason hummed around the prize in his mouth and began to move faster, increasing the speed of his fingers as they thrust in and out of his lover. Every stroke drove Tommy closer to the edge and that was what he wanted.

When Tommy finally reached the pinnacle, he could only groan aloud in pleasure. The dual sensations of Jason's oral manipulations and him driving his fingers in and out of him had sent him over the edge--hard. He was barely aware of his boyfriend placing gentle kisses on his lips for several moments afterwards and then he slowly became aware of the teasing tongue and the taste of himself that Jason was sharing with him. With a soft sigh, he grinned. "That was incredible."

"That was only my fingers." He kissed him again. "Wait until it's me."

Positioning himself between those muscled thighs, Jason applied lube to his burgeoning member with slightly shaking hands. He was nervous about hurting Tommy and not doing things right, but his desire to know his lover in this final way had him moving forward.

"Lift your hips for me." When the Red Ranger complied, he slipped a pillow under them to give himself a better angle. Slowly, he guided the head of his erection to the opening he had so carefully prepared and pressed in slightly. As his cock started sliding past that first ring of muscle, it was all he could do not to slide the rest of the way in. The tight heat surrounding him was incredible and he wanted to bury himself up to the hilt in it. When Tommy didn't seem to have a problem with this, he pushed in a little further, passing the second ring of muscle which was still relaxed from his boyfriend's intense climax.

For a moment, Tommy laid there with his eyes shut tight, but as he felt himself being penetrated by Jason's thick cock, he opened his eyes and saw the emotions flickering through his lover's midnight pools. It was easy to read the nervousness, fear and, underneath it all, desire, in their inky depths. Reaching a hand up, he gently cupped his lover's cheek before sliding his hand around to the back of Jason's neck and drawing him down for a deep, passion-filled kiss.

Groaning softly, Jason continued the kiss as he slowly sank deeper and deeper into the man beneath him. When he was completely sheathed within that tight heat, he looked down into the chocolate eyes of his lover. "You okay?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He leaned up, capturing that warm mouth once again. It was several minutes before he felt comfortable asking his boyfriend to move, but by then he could no longer deny the fact that he wanted... needed... to feel the hot shaft joining them completely move inside of him. With a soft thrust of his hips, he gave his partner the message to keep going and moaned in pleasure when that rod left him almost completely only to slide slowly home once again.

Bit by bit, Jason began to feel more comfortable with what he was doing. As he relaxed, he pushed Tommy's legs up towards his chest and the angle allowed him to sink in a bit deeper. He groaned and began to thrust faster, his hands moving to the trim hips to give himself better leverage as the Gold Ranger felt his lover start to meet his efforts.

Soon, the only sounds were the slap of skin-on-skin, harsh pants and groans of pleasure. Feeling that he was getting close once again, Tommy took hold of his once again hard cock and began stroking it in time to Jason's thrusts. He moved his legs to wrap around his lover and pressing on the tight buttocks, trying to draw him closer.

"Oh God, Jason... please....harder..." He groaned aloud, one hand stroking his cock while the other had a white-knuckled grip on the sleeping bag beneath him. "So close..."

Speeding up his thrusts, Jason also increased their force. He changed his angle just slightly and a few strokes later he felt Tommy clench around him as he came again.

"JASON!!" The name was screamed out as the young man orgasmed hard, his warm seed splashing between them.

His lover clenching around his hard cock drove Jason over the edge and he came hard, shooting his essence deep inside the man beneath him. He continued thrusting for a few moments before collapsing on the solid chest of his boyfriend. For several moments he just laid there, unable to summon the energy or desire to move.

Tommy recovered first and began to gently card his fingers through the sweat dampened locks, then started to ghost over the sweat-slicked skin that adorned the toned back of his lover. When Jason was finally able to pick his head up, he leaned forward and kissed him softly. A soft groan escaped him as his partner shifted and his spent cock slid from him. Tom knew that he'd probably be sore later on, but it was definitely worth it. Settling down beside each other, they continued caressing the plenitude of naked skin and sharing the occasional kiss until they both drifted off to sleep.

Once they'd woken, Tommy looked over at his lover and smiled. "Damn Jase, I knew 'Jason Jr.' was big, but it felt like you were going to split me in two."

"Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Jason asked, very concerned.

"No, I'm okay. I'm sure I'll be sore in spots that I don't wanna talk about to anybody but you, but I'm fine," Tommy reassured him with a grin. "Just be careful where you put that thing, okay?" he laughed.

"Well ya know, I thought you were going for my throat from the bottom up, so don't start with me, buster," Jason quipped.

"Not too bad for not knowing what we were doing, huh?"

They had a bit of a laugh over that and continued to lie in each other's arms for a while, each drinking in the feel and scent of their lover. Eventually they decided to watch one of the movies they'd brought up with them. Tommy did the honours by getting up and putting the tape in the player and turning on the TV, then returning to the floor beside Jason. Lying naked on the pallet they had made from floor pillows and a sleeping bag, they cuddled a bit while the movie was on. Besides the TV, the fire was the only light in the room as it crackled softly in the background. The soft glow it cast reflected off the bare skin of the young men that lay before it.

They cuddled a bit as they watched the movie—stroking each other's arms and legs, Jason playing with Tommy's hair, and some gentle, soft kisses and nibbles to shoulders, necks, and mouths. With the end credits rolling, Jason suggested that they retire to the spacious, soft bed upstairs after taking a quick shower.

"We need to turn the water off in the hot tub. I'll go—you went last time," Tom offered.

"No, I'll get it. My clothes are already down here. Gimme five minutes," Jason said and got up to take care of things out on the deck while his lover made sure that the doors were locked and everything was turned off.

After a quick shower, the boys got ready for bed. While Jason lay on the bed and watched, Tommy quickly braided his wet hair to keep it out of his face while he slept.

"David finally got you to do that right, huh?" he asked his boyfriend.

"Yeah, it takes more practice than you'd think and this is just a quick, simple three-strand braid. Some of those complicated things that girls do to their hair . . . I don't know how they do it."

"I'm sure Anna or Alicia would be glad to teach you—they were both watching you pretty close the last time we were all together."

Tommy shot him an odd look. "What are you on about? Alicia is dating my brother and Anna is going out with Rocky. Why would they be looking at me?"

Jason held up his hands and shook his head. "I don't know man, I'm just sayin'. I know what I saw."

"You're nuts," Tommy said as he joined the Gold Ranger in bed. "You're seeing things that aren't there or you're crazy, but I love ya anyway," he smiled and kissed Jason on the forehead.

"Uh huh . . . okay. If you say so. Love you too."

After sharing one more deep, warm kiss, Jason and Tommy settled down in their usual sleeping position and fell asleep almost immediately.

_____________________

Saturday morning dawned clear and cold. The snow had stopped falling overnight, and the early morning sun came streaming into the big picture windows of the master bedroom. Jason woke as the room began brightening up and wanted to go draw the curtains, but couldn't convince his body to drag itself out of the bed just yet.

They were going for a hike in the woods today and he knew they needed to go ahead and get up and have breakfast, but that knowledge just wasn't enough to make him move—not yet. Turning away from the light, he snuggled into Tommy's back and drifted off again.

"Jason . . . bro, come on . . . wake up," Tom said as he softly nudged his boyfriend. It was getting to be late morning and they needed to get going. "Wake up, Jase," he said again as he leaned in and kissed him.

"Hmmm?" the Gold Ranger groaned as he blinked his eyes open. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten. Aren't you getting hungry?" Tommy asked. "You're usually up before me."

"Well, I woke up earlier but just couldn't get up. I guess you wore me out yesterday," he smiled up at his lover.

"I ain't done with you yet. Come on, let's eat and go for our hike," Tommy responded with a smile. He was anxious to go and find their Christmas tree.

After a filling breakfast, they packed some goodies into a bag so that they could have lunch outside if they decided to. Jason walked out onto the back deck to check on the hot tub. He had turned the heater on before they had gone up to bed the night before and he wanted to see how things were coming.

"It's getting there—should be ready by tonight," he told Tommy when he came back in.

Making sure he had his camera, the Gold Ranger joined his boyfriend out by the truck where he noticed Tommy holding an axe.

"What's with the weapon? You expecting us to get attacked out in the woods?" Jason laughed.

"No . . . you just never know when you might need an axe out in the woods, that's all. You ready to go?" he asked, not offering any more of an explanation than that.

Jason shrugged and started off beside his boyfriend as they disappeared into the woods beside the house. The scenery up in that part of the mountains was just breathtaking at times, especially with everything covered by a thick blanket of snow. Jason, ever the shutterbug, took lots of pictures as they walked along. Tommy kept his eyes open for a tree that would fit the bill . . . and the living room. He saw lots of pines and firs, everywhere from four to ten feet tall, but nothing that seemed to be the perfect one.

At last, as they topped a small hill they had been struggling to climb in all that deep snow, he saw the ideal tree just standing there waiting for him. He took a closer look when he finally reached it and smiled.

"What're you doing?" Jason asked when he saw his friend examining the little fir.

"Nothin'—just wondering what kind of tree this is."

"Looks like a fir tree of some kind to me, but I'm not sure. Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't—just curious."

The Gold Ranger was beginning to get suspicious and he had a pretty good idea what his lover was doing, but he didn't want to say anything just yet.

"Okay, well . . . let's find somewhere to sit and have a snack. I'm gettin' hungry," Jason remarked.

They sat on a fallen log and ate the goodies that they'd brought along while talking. It was nice for them to be able to spend some time together completely by themselves—no one else around. Tommy, ever the Ranger Commander, still glanced at his communicator every now and then, silently hoping that it wouldn't go off at all this weekend. This time was for him and Jason to spend away from all the problems and responsibilities that they had at home. They'd been lucky so far.

As the Red Ranger sat and thought about this, he suddenly got a mischievous grin on his face.

"What?" Jason asked, noticing the smile.

"Oh . . . I was just wondering what my mom thinks we're doing up here this weekend," Tommy said while gazing out at the snow-covered landscape.

"Not sure. She thinks she knows something, apparently. You don't think she'd come up here, do ya?" Jason asked.

"Nah . . . I don't think so," he said and then paused. "But we might wanna keep the curtains drawn and the doors locked . . . just in case."

Jason nodded and then stood up and stretched. "You ready to head back?" he asked.

After Tommy nodded, the Original Red Ranger held his hand out and helped his boyfriend up, pulling him into a warm hug. "Come 'ere you," he whispered, leaning in and capturing Tommy's mouth with his own. They let the kiss deepen, allowing their tongues to intertwine and play with each other while their bodies were as close as all that winter clothing would allow. Once they'd come up for air, Jason placed his forehead against Tommy's.

"One of these days, I'm gonna kiss you like that right in front of your mom--just for spite," the Gold Ranger said.

"Well wait until after I've already moved out, okay?"

Nodding, Jason pulled back and picked up the axe. "Now get your tree and let's head back to the house."

Tommy laughed. "I was kinda obvious, wasn't I?"

"Aww, I think it's cute. Need some help cutting it down?"

"It's not a very thick trunk—I can probably get it myself."

"Okay well, while you're doing that, I'm gonna get some pine boughs to decorate with. Yell if you need me, alright?" Jason said and walked over to the nearest large pine trees.

An hour later, the two of them made it back to the cabin with their Christmas decorations in tow. They had taken turns dragging the tree through the snow and got it back without doing any damage to it. Once inside, Tommy retrieved the tree stand from the closet and they carefully lowered the little fir into it, standing it up quite easily.

"That looks nice, don't ya think?" Tommy asked.

"It does. You did a nice job picking it out," Jason remarked as he stepped over and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's waist.

"So now we have to decorate it. Let's see what all we've got to work with," the Red Ranger said and went back over to the supply closet.

Dragging out boxes and plastic bins, they found lights, garlands, and all sorts of different kinds of hanging decorations.

"Well, let's get started. The lights are always the hardest part," Tommy said.

Jason nodded and helped him get them untangled and strung on the tree. Once that was done, he let Tommy hang most of the garlands and balls while he worked on fashioning a wreath and a fresh garland for the fireplace mantle from the pine boughs that he had gathered.

Tommy stopped what he was doing once or twice to watch his boyfriend work. "You're multi-talented. Where did you learn to do that?"

"Boy Scouts," Jason answered simply.

"I was _never_ a Boy Scout," Tommy chuckled.

"I can tell," his lover answered with a grin.

Once he'd finished, he placed them on the wooden mantle and stood back to admire his work. "Not bad—a little plain, but not bad," he assessed.

"I think it's nice. Really dresses up the fireplace," Tommy said.

"Hey, before I help you finish the tree, want me to make some spiced cider?" Jason asked.

"Sure. That's the stuff from Switzerland that you were telling me about, right?"

"Yep. It's really good."

"I'll help you. I'm gonna take a break anyway," Tommy said.

They walked into the kitchen together and washed the tree sap from their hands. Jason pulled everything he needed from one of the boxes they'd brought up with them.

"So what all's in it?" Tommy asked while he watched Jason work.

"Well, I don't remember everything—I have to follow the recipe. I put it all together in plastic baggies before we came up so it would be faster. I know it's got allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, an orange, and brown sugar . . . can't remember the other things."

"And you just mix all that with apple cider and let it warm? Is that all there is to it?"

"Yep. Nothing hard about it," Jason answered.

They put it all together and left it on the stove to heat while they checked on the hot tub. They found that it was just about ready.

"That's gonna feel so good later on," Tommy said.

"You know it!"

An hour and a half later, the Gold Ranger sat on the couch admiring the tree while Tommy stoked the rebuilt fire.

"We did a nice job," Jason said after taking a sip of his cider. "I've gotta take some pictures."

"Yeah you do. That's our first Christmas tree," Tommy said with a warm smile as he rejoined his boyfriend on the couch.

"Now this seems like Christmas," Jason whispered, laying his head on Tommy's shoulder. "The tree, the fire, snow falling outside, hot cider, Christmas music . . . yep, this is it."

Tommy kissed him on the forehead. "Best part of it is being together, though. I'm so glad we finally managed to get past our worries and nerves and talk things out."

Jason nodded. "And I know this might sound sappy, but I think this'll be the best Christmas yet. May we have many more together," he said and held his mug up to signal a toast.

Tommy followed suit, saying, "Absolutely. Many, many more, I hope." They drank to their toast and placed the mugs on the coffee table before settling down for a nice, warm cuddle on the couch.

_________________

Following a quick shower and dinner in the living room, they enjoyed dessert sent by Mama Scott—Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese icing. When they finished, they sat back and let their food settle a bit.

Eventually though, Tommy stood up from his place on the couch and took the dinner dishes to the sink. Once he'd returned, he extended his hand to Jason. "Ready to try out that hot tub?"

Jason took it and stood up. "Definitely. Think the hot water will be great after that hike and lugging back the tree."

"Mmm hmm," Tommy nodded and began to lead his boyfriend over to the door that led out onto the deck. "So, you wanna wear boxers or birthday suits?" he grinned.

"I think it's safe enough out here we could wear nothing and be okay. Besides, I hate wet boxers."

"True, Uncle John doesn't have any neighbours up here. We're gonna have to move fast though, or we'll freeze our jewels off!!"

"Yeah well, we can take a couple of towels out if we want to, that'd help a little."

"I'll grab the towels, you get anything else you think we might need," Tommy said as he turned to go into the downstairs bathroom.

Jason walked into the kitchen. He had set a pot with some of the cider to keep warm on the back burner. Now, he poured some into a couple of cups and with a grin, grabbed one of the containers his mom had sent. Setting the items on a tray, he started for the back deck.

Returning to the living room, the ranger commander spotted Jason at the back door. "Why don't we undress in here and then just make a run for it after we open the door?" he suggested. According the weather report, the temperature was hovering in the high 20s. Being a guy who had grown up near the beach, he was certain they were gonna freeze out there.

Jason grinned. "Let me go put this outside then because I don't want to run with this in my hands." He slid the door open and walked over to the hot tub and set the tray down, then walked back in. He raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend. "You sure we want to do this?"

Tom returned a cautious grin. "Why? Is it that bad out there?"

"Not really. The addition cuts some of the wind, but it's still cold. Just wanted to make sure you wanted to do this." He started pulling his own shirt off.

"Yeah, I think we'll be okay once we get into the water. It's just the few seconds out of the water that's gonna be interesting." After losing his t-shirt, jeans, and boxers, Tommy wrapped one of the towels around his hips and waited for his lover to do the same. "I'm as ready as I'm gonna get."

Nodding, he finished undressing and wrapped the towel around his waist. "Let's get this part over with."

"Yep."

Taking a deep breath, Tommy grabbed the door handle and looked back at Jason. With a nod, they threw open the door, ran through it, closed it again, made it to the hot tub and lost their towels in record time. They quickly sank down into the hot water, grinning and shivering. "That's gotta be a world record!" the Red Ranger laughed.

Jason snorted as he sank up to his chin in the water. "Just glad that I put the cider in those travel mugs instead of regular cups. It'll say warm for a while longer that way." He grinned. "And I brought out a treat from Mom."

A big grin broke out all over Tom's face. Treats from Mama Scott were usually very good. "Really?! What is it?" he asked excitedly.

"Don't know. I haven't looked yet and she was refusing to tell me. She just said that she knew we'd like it and packed it into the cooler." He grabbed the container and opened it.

Peeking over into the container, Tommy licked his lips. "Mmmm, baklava! Your mom rocks!"

"She only makes this a few times a year--says if she made it more, we'd all be buying bigger clothes." He chuckled softly and held out a piece to his lover. "Want some?"

"Stupid question," the other young man said quietly and leaned forward to eat the treat right out of his boyfriend's hand, being sure to nibble a little at his fingers in the process.

Grinning, the Gold Ranger leaned forward. "You missed some." He flicked his tongue out, cleaning off a piece that rested at the corner of his partner's mouth.

"Mmmm..." the Red Ranger moaned with a smile crossing his lips. "Your turn," he said in a low, sultry voice and picked up a piece of the decadent treat, offering it to his lover.

Taking a few bites, Jason chewed slowly before swallowing. The last bit was close to his boyfriend's fingers. He took the bite and fingers into his mouth, sucking at the digits and running his tongue over them before pulling back a bit.

"I love that tongue," Tommy whispered. "Who taught you?" he smiled.

He grinned wickedly at the man in front of him. "Let's see, the person that taught me is tall, has long, dark hair and a very nice body." He moved a bit closer. "He has eyes that you can get lost in that are like warm, chocolate pools. And an incredible smile."

"What's his name?! You been cheatin' on me?" Tommy asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Jason reached out a hand and started tickling him. "I'm gonna make you pay for that."

"Stop! No . . . Jase . . ." he yelped and squirmed, trying to get away from his attacker. "Payback's a bitch, just remember that!" He tried to move around the hot tub to get away from his lover, but he was cornered.

Jason set the container down and followed him, then put both hands on those trim hips. "What are you going to do now?" He moved in closer and gently nipped a spot on Tommy's collarbone.

Giving up the struggle, the other man stretched his arms out to the side and laid his head back. "Take my punishment like the bad boy that I am, I guess. Give it to me," he said in a low voice.

Jason groaned softly as his cock came to attention. "My pleasure." He leaned in and latched onto an earlobe, biting it quickly before laving an area behind it as he let one hand drop between them to gently stroke his lover's velvet covered shaft.

"Ahhh...I could get used to this," he groaned and stayed very still, letting his boyfriend do as he wished. "But I'm still gonna get you back."

He chuckled softly. "I wouldn't expect anything less." He made his way up to the soft, warm lips and slipped his tongue inside.

As the kiss intensified, they sank into the water up to their necks. Hands roamed free and drank in the feel of all that wet, naked flesh. Both were fully aroused by now and the occasional friction fuelled their desire.

Groaning softly, Jason broke the kiss and rested his forehead against his lover. He took a few deep breaths, then looked into Tommy's eyes. "Think I'm a little sore to try anything like we did yesterday." He stroked a little harder on his boyfriend's shaft, twisting his hand a little and running his thumb over the head.

His breathing becoming quicker, Tommy managed to say, "That's okay--I'm the same way. We can figure out something else." Something like what Jason had already gotten started.

The Red Ranger reached down and took his lover's erection into his hand and started giving as good as he was getting.

Jason groaned softly as that skilled hand wrapped around him and started stroking his hardened shaft. "Hang on a second." He shifted them a bit so that he was now sitting on the bench beneath the water and Tommy was straddling his thighs. The move brought both of their erections together. Taking hold of his lover's hand he manoeuvred it so that together they were stroking both cocks at the same time. "Mmmmmm, much better." He leaned in again, capturing Tommy's mouth once more.

Tommy moaned at the extra friction and put his other hand at the back of his lover's neck, holding him close as the kiss deepened. Their strokes sped up slowly and they had to break the kiss to breath. Foreheads pressed against each other for a moment before lips, mouth and teeth found new places to attach themselves.

As the pace increased, Jason began to slowly pump his hips, adding more friction to the mix. He let his head rest against his lover's shoulder for a moment as the familiar tingling began at the base of his spine. "So close..." His voice was low and husky as he moved his free hand up to roll and pinch at one of his boyfriend's rock hard nipples.

The extra sensation drove Tommy over the edge and he came hard. His strokes became frantic and he latched onto the juncture of Jason's neck, sucking hard and sending his lover over the edge as well.

Both were breathing hard from the exertion and resting their foreheads against each other. "Told ya we'd think of something," Tommy panted.

"Yeah...never doubted you," Jason whispered in response.

Once they'd calmed a bit, Tommy moved from his lover's lap and sat on the bench next to him. "So I guess that's the first time we've done anything like that underwater, huh? Another first," he grinned.

The Gold Ranger chuckled softly and got up. He grabbed the tray, brought it over to the other side, and set it behind them. "Definitely another first." He handed his partner a mug and took the other for himself. "Although, I'm thinking one time when we come back up here, we should try something else while we're in here."

Grinning wickedly, Tommy nodded. "Once we're more practiced, that'd be fun! Think some of the water might get sloshed out though."

"Well, I'm sure a little water being splashed around won't be bad." He took another piece of the baklava and started eating it, then grinned. "Mom added chocolate to some of them."

Tommy took a sip from the mug and savoured the mellow flavour of the cider before swallowing it. "I love this stuff...you need to teach me how to make it." He thought for a moment and then grinned. "You can cook--I've seen you do housework--you'd make someone a good wife!"

Jason snorted. "And you'd be a bad one considering that you've burned water." He took a drink of his own cider, then let his head rest against the side of the hot tub. "This is nice."

"Yeah, it is. I'd like to have my own hot tub one day. Think we can find one that we can use while we're away at college?" Tommy asked and gently rubbed Jason's thigh.

"Maybe not like this." He grinned over at him as he let his own hand drop on his partner's muscled thigh. "But I'm sure we can find something. Definitely want to try and get a place of our own off campus."

"Yeah, I think that'd be the best thing. Even with what we've read about the different schools, we still need to be careful. Don't want to become a bashing statistic."

"Very true. I'd like to avoid anything like that if possible." He took another drink. "Really think I should make some of this for the party?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. The other guys will love it. Do you know what your mom is making?"

He started laughing. It took a few minutes before he was finally able to stop, wiping the tears from his eyes. "What isn't she? She's got pigs-in-a-blanket planned along with a veggie tray. There's going to be lasagne and ravioli, mac'n cheese, some of her herb and garlic chicken with wild rice." He shook his head. "Pretty much at least one favourite dish of everyone that's coming."

"Your mom is bucking for sainthood, isn't she? That woman is incredible." Tommy really did have the utmost respect and admiration for Theresa Scott. He often thought that his own mother was a lot like her--his birth mother, that is.

He shrugged. "She just does it because she knows it makes people happy. Besides, she has the time and loves to cook. I think she's even asked Rocky's mom to make a batch of tamales to bring over."

"It's gonna be some party! It'll be fun to get together with everybody and stuff our faces."

"Oh yeah, it's gonna be fun. So's the New Year's Eve party at Adam's."

After soaking in the tub for another fifteen minutes or so, the boys decided to go back inside and watch another of the movies they'd brought up. Jason had a whole collection of Christmas movies and he really wanted to watch one tonight, now that they had the tree decorated and everything.

Running back into the house to keep from freezing, the boys dried off and changed into sleep pants and t-shirts. Settling down on the couch in front of the fire, they watched "A Christmas Story" and then called it a night. Both were pretty tired from everything they'd done that day and were looking forward to sleeping late in the morning. Not long after they'd kissed each other goodnight, they were both sound asleep in each other's arms.

___________________

_Author's Notes: This chapter got waaay too long, so I divided it up. The wrap-up of their weekend at the lake house will be coming up shortly. It's already mostly written, so I promise that it'll be out very soon!_

_Again, thanks for hangin' in there with me—real life just won't give me a break lately!_

_Please review and let me know what you think!_


	33. Mountain Rendezvous Part 3

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes:** I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is well on their way to a happy new year!

This will wrap up the boys' escapades in the mountains. Hope you've enjoyed it! Warning: Those teenage hormones run rampant again in this chapter. As usual, this is the tame version.

Thanks again to my Sis, prophet144, for the help and support! Don't know what I'd do without her!

**Chapter 33—Mountain Rendezvous Part 3**

Next morning, Tommy slowly blinked his eyes as he woke. The call of nature was unavoidable, regardless of how much he'd prefer to still be asleep. He was unable to move though. A warm weight was pinning his left side to the bed and looking down, he saw exactly what that was. Jason had attached himself to the Ranger Commander during the night and was showing no signs of moving. Tommy looked down at the dark-haired head on his shoulder, the arm thrown across his stomach, and he felt one of the Gold Ranger's powerful legs intertwined with his, effectively trapping his left leg.

He had to smile—the burly, in-control, veteran ranger looked like such a big teddy bear when he was asleep. His long, black eyelashes rested on his cheeks and his full, soft lips had a slight smile on them—he must've been having a nice dream. He lightly traced the shape of them with a finger before pulling away to keep from waking him.

'_He just looks . . . sweet. That's the only word for it_,' Tommy thought and smiled. He wasn't sure his big, strapping boyfriend would appreciate being called 'sweet'.

Finally, when he could wait no longer, he tried slowly pulling away from the other man only to have him grab onto him that much tighter. He giggled and stroked Jason's head.

"Bro, you gotta let me up—I gotta go," Tommy said while laughing. Jason just groaned sleepily and snuggled into his lover's side.

Rolling his eyes and sighing, the Red Ranger tried again to pull away, but was met with even more resistance this time. _'He can't have that much grip in his sleep—he just can't.' _He looked down to see a broad smile on his boyfriend's face. "You big goof. . . how long you been awake?!"

"Long enough," he said and strengthened his hold on Tommy by moving his arm from around his waist to up under his shoulder and throwing his leg over both of Tommy's. "You ain't movin' till I say so!" he laughed.

"Jase! I gotta go, I said! This is cruel!"

"Cruel? Nah, this ain't cruel. Tickling you might be, though." He gave Tommy one of his patented Jason grins and started going at his lover's side.

"Jase! No! Quit with the tickling!" he yelled and tried to squirm out of his boyfriend's hold. It wasn't working. Jason just had too much of a weight advantage.

"Make me," the Gold Ranger laughed and shifted his position until he was lying on top of Tommy.

"I'll make you help me wash the sheets and air out the mattress after I pee all over you _and_ the bed! Let me up, dammit!"

"Okay, okay. . ." Jason giggled and rolled off, smacking Tommy's ass as he got up and practically ran to the bathroom. "What do you want for breakfast?" he yelled in that direction.

"Doesn't matter. . . whatever you want," Tommy called back.

Jason walked into the bathroom just as his best friend was drying his hands. "I'll go get something started as soon as I take care of business here."

"Alright—I'll do the coffee," Tommy said and headed downstairs after giving his lover a quick kiss.

Once Jason had joined him and started making their eggs, bacon, and toast, he looked out the window. "It's stopped snowing again. What did you have in mind to do today?"

"Oh, I don't know. There's a cute little town not far from here. Uncle John and I go down there sometimes to get supplies. Do we need anything?" Tommy asked.

Jason thought as he kept stirring the eggs so they wouldn't burn. "Ummm, well . . . we could always pick up something to go along with dinner if you want—or maybe a different dessert. We can make it worth our while if you wanna go down there."

"I think it'd be fun. It's a little 100-or-so-year old town—the whole thing is on one street—lots of little stores that sell everything from fishing lures and camping gear to snowshoes and hiking boots . . . oh, and antiques. My aunt loves the antique stores." He paused. "I think the only way the businesses stay afloat is by selling to the tourists that come through to go camping, fishing, and whatnot up here in the mountains."

"Sounds good--we'll head down there after we eat. I hope the roads are pretty clear, though. I'm not used to driving in snow, ya know," Jason stated.

Once they'd finished breakfast, they got dressed and set off in the Suburban. It was easy to find, there were signs and billboards all along the road. Arriving after a short drive of about twenty minutes, they found a small municipal parking lot and started walking along the sidewalk of the quaint little town.

"Aww, look at all the Christmas decorations!" Jason said excitedly. "Every little store is all done up in lights and garlands and stuff. My kinda town!"

Tommy smiled and chuckled at his boyfriend. "You're just a big kid, aren'tcha?"

"Pretty much--especially when it comes to Christmas!"

They walked along, wishing that they could wrap their arms around each other or at least hold hands, but small towns usually meant small minds—or at least fairly old-fashioned ones—and they didn't want to cause any problems for themselves.

As they passed one of the many antique stores, Jason spotted something in the window that he thought his mother would just love.

"Oh look, that's the kind of stuff that Mom collects. I wonder how much it is," he said, leaning in closer to the window.

"Let's go in and see," Tommy said and opened the door, holding it for his boyfriend.

After checking it out, Jason decided that his mom could use one more present under the tree and made his purchase after only a couple of minutes of looking through the shop. After that, they went into the sporting goods store that was located a few doors down. Tommy found the section dedicated to playing in the snow. It contained snowshoes, snowboards, saucers, and skis—everything you could ever need.

"Whatdaya think? Wanna break your neck on a snowboard?" he asked with a grin as Jason came around the corner.

"Well, I can surf . . . how different could it be?"

"From what I hear, a lot—it's supposed to be much harder, but I've never tried it." A quick look at the price tag and he added, "And since they cost that much, I don't think I ever will."

They moved down the row and examined the snowshoes. "We could have used these on our hike. When we buy our cabin up in the mountains, we're gonna have to have some of this stuff!" Jason grinned.

"Yeah right, you planning on coming into some money?" Tommy asked.

"Hey, you never know. Depends on how good of a job I can get once college is over."

Considering this for a moment, Tommy shrugged. "True, true."

Getting down to the brightly-coloured saucers and finding them surprisingly affordable, he suddenly had an idea. "Hey, these would be fun! And I don't think it takes years to learn how to use them, either. Whatcha think?"

His boyfriend looked so excited that Jason had to grin. "You wanna get a couple?"

"Yeah, there's that big hill behind the cabin that would be perfect for them. What colour do you want?"

"How about a red one for me and a green one for you . . . for old-time's sake," Jason proposed with a cocked eyebrow.

Chuckling and nodding, Tommy agreed. "Alright, sounds good. Just make sure you pick up the large size—the kiddie ones won't hold that big ass of yours."

"Big ass? Me?" he asked with mock indignation. Shaking his head, he leaned over close to his lover. "Last time I checked, you loved this big ass of mine."

"Yeah, okay . . . when you're right, you're right. Let's get these and get outta here."

They did just that and dropped by the truck to deposit their shopping before heading into the grocery store. Once inside, they picked up some doughnuts, a Caesar salad mix with dressing, and some fresh Italian bread to go with dinner.

"We got everything? I'm anxious to try out those saucers," Tommy said, practically pulling Jason toward the check-out.

Chuckling, he let himself be pulled along. "Okay, alright . . . let's go!"

They arrived back at the lake house and quickly put the groceries away. After eating a quick lunch and making sure they were dressed for playing in the snow, they grabbed their new saucers and headed for the steep hill behind the house. Tommy took a few minutes to walk around the base of it and look it up and down.

"What's the matter, you rethinking that hill? You'll jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but you're scared of a little hill?" Jason chuckled and walked over to him.

"No, smartass. I'm trying to make sure there aren't any big rocks or logs buried under the snow. You hit one and you'll wish you hadn't! The hospital is a long way from here."

"Oh, well . . . yeah, I guess that _is_ a good idea. I'll help." He wandered around, kicking at anything that looked like it could have something solid underneath. He knew that if one of them really did get hurt they'd just transport themselves to the Power Chamber's med bay, but still . . . better safe than sorry.

Once they were fairly sure that there were no obstacles in their way, the two young men climbed to the top of the hill and tried to figure out the best way of doing this. After a couple of falls resulting in barrel rolls down the hill, they pretty much got the hang of it. That's not to say that there weren't a few face plants along the way though.

"Come on, I'll race ya!" Jason yelled and they started up the hill again. He was really glad that his best friend had suggested this—he was having a blast.

"Okay, but you've got an unfair advantage, just remember that!" Tommy replied.

"What's that?"

"You outweigh me by at least twenty pounds!"

"Oh, it evens out. You're taller and you got ten pounds more hair than I do! Quit whinin'!" Jason laughed as they got ready to make their run.

Sure enough, Jason reached the bottom before Tommy, but just barely. Ever the competitive alpha males, they had to give it another shot. Same result.

"See? We're not evenly matched on these things. In most anything else, I can kick your ass," Tommy said, knowing that he was goading his boyfriend.

"Is that right, punk? I taught you at least half of what you think you know," Jason quipped. He knew he was lying, but he loved to get Tommy worked up like this.

The Ranger Commander was having none of it. He dropped his saucer and stalked menacingly at Jason. "Oh please . . . you're so full of shit! I nearly wiped the mats with you the first time we met, oh-'Angel Grove's Finest'," he mocked while making quotes in the air. He was lying too—they were pretty evenly matched and he knew it. As a matter of fact, that tournament was the first time Tommy had had any real competition in a long time.

Jason had to grin momentarily, then he reverted back to a snarl. "Oh . . . who's full of it now, Falconboy? I can take you anytime, anywhere." He had stepped up to get right in his boyfriend's face as he tried his best to keep from laughing.

"Don't let your mouth write a check your butt can't cash, alright?! Rematch—Youth Center—when we get home," he said, sticking a finger in Jason's thick chest and using his extra inch or so of height to loom over him as much as possible.

"You got it, Sport."

Tommy grinned wickedly. "Sport, huh? I'll show you a new sport." He reached down, grabbed a double handful of snow, and shoved it in Jason's face before taking off, laughing.

Taken a bit by surprise, Jason wiped the snow from his face and then took off after his lover. "I'll get you for that, pretty boy! Just remember, karma's a bitch!"

"And so are you!" Tommy yelled back as he took cover behind the truck, quickly making a few snowballs to pelt his friend with.

This snowball fight went pretty much like the previous one had—no one really won, but each had a great time chasing and blasting snowballs at the other. Once the truce was called, they sat down to rest on the back deck. Jason went in and made some quick hot chocolate for them and they remained on the deck, enjoying their last day at the cabin.

"I really don't wanna go home tomorrow. This has been way too nice," Jason said, slipping his arm around his lover's waist.

"I know. The real world is gonna suck even more than usual after having a chance to be all alone with you for the weekend. I really can't wait until we have our own place in college."

"No kiddin' . . . well, about eight more months and we should be moving into _something_--hopefully an apartment."

Tommy nodded and smiled. Inside though, he worried about something happening at home that would keep him from being able to go. He was almost positive that he'd graduate on time, but without his parents financial help, he would never be able to afford to go away to school.

'_But I can't stay in that house one day longer than I have to . . . I just can't! I'll go nuts! I'll go live on the res with David and Sam if I have to, I swear!_'

Jason felt his boyfriend tensing up and he turned the other man's face until he could look into his eyes. "What's wrong, bro? Did I say something I shouldn't have?" After spending so much time in Tommy's therapy sessions with Dr. James, Jason knew that it didn't take much to set him off. _'Damn these mood swings—five minutes ago he was fine.'_

Tommy shook his head slightly. "No, you didn't do anything wrong . . . I was just thinkin'."

"About what? It seems to have upset you, whatever it is," he said and pulled his boyfriend closer to him.

"Nothin' . . . it's nothin'," he said and turned his eyes away from the other man.

Jason sighed. "Tom, come on. All this time with the doc hasn't taught you better than that? It's not 'nothing'--talk to me . . ."

Tommy sighed deeply. "I guess I'm still afraid that something will happen and I won't be able to go off to college with you. I can't stand the thought of that," he said and lowered his head.

"What would cause that? You know you're gonna graduate on time now and we got all our paperwork done and sent in—what specifically are you worrying about?" Jason asked, rubbing Tommy's back.

"Something happenin' at home, I guess. I hate taking anything from the Olivers, but I need the money in my college fund or I can't go. If they cut me off . . ."

"We'll figure something out," Jason said before Tommy could finish. "I told you, we'll work something out even if it's nothing more than going to Angel Grove Community College for a few semesters. I'm sure you could get financial aid. Now stop worrying, okay? Let's just enjoy our last day here in the snow."

"You're right, I'm sorry." He looked up and gave Jason a weak smile. "Any more hot chocolate?"

"Sure, come into the kitchen," Jason said and started toward the door.

"Ummm, can you get it? I'd like to just stand here for a few minutes, if that's okay."

His boyfriend gave him an understanding look. "Okay, I'll be right back." With that, he went into the kitchen and started warming up the water to make more cocoa. He could see Tommy through the glass doors and he kept a close eye on him.

His body language was easy to read. He stood leaning on the railing, staring out across the mostly frozen lake. His shoulders were slumped and Jason didn't have to see his face to know what expression he wore. He knew who was causing his lover all this anguish and it made him furious.

'_I _will_ get him away from them and out from under their influence if it's the last thing I do!'_ he declared to himself. He couldn't stand to see his boyfriend like this.

Once the cocoa was made, he took the mug back out to his distraught lover and wrapped an arm around his waist. "It's gonna be okay, bro. You'll see."

Tommy just sighed and took a sip from his cup. "I hope so, Jase. It's gonna be bad news if I have to stay with them much longer."

"There's always my house—or Adam's, or David's, or even Rocky's if you can stand sleeping in the middle of a three-ring circus!" he laughed softly.

That got a chuckle out of his bro. He decided that he needed to try to get past this—at least for the moment. They only had so much time together up here and he didn't want to ruin it for Jason. "You're right—I've gotta get this off my mind. Let's finish our hot chocolate and go do something."

"Sounds like a plan. Whatcha got in mind?"

"Let me think about that," Tommy said and tried to distract himself by deciding on something to keep them busy. After a couple of minutes, he said, "I've got it! I know what I wanna do."

Jason grinned. "What's that?"

Blushing slightly, Tommy replied, "Well, I know this might sound childish, but I wanna build a snowman! I've never got to do that before!"

The grin on his face warmed Jason's heart. _'I'd do anything he asked if it'd keep him smiling like that.' _"You got it! Let's go!" he said and they quickly drained their mugs and hopped down the deck stairs into the back yard.

The two beach boys did pretty well on the snowman that they erected in the yard. It was a little shorter than they were and it had some improvised facial features, but it wasn't bad for a first attempt. Jason, of course, took lots of pictures. They made sure that it was in full view of the back doors so they could look at it while they sat in front of the fire later.

Once they were satisfied with it, they decided to take a quick dip in the hot tub to warm up before dinner.

"We'd better take a quick shower first, don'tcha think? We're all sweaty from playing in the snow," Jason suggested.

"Yeah, you're probably right about that. Let's go," Tommy answered and they headed upstairs, stripping as they went.

A shared shower and a little bit of fooling around later, the boys came back downstairs wrapped in towels. A quick run had them in the hot water. They only stayed in for a little while though, they still had to have dinner.

While Tommy built a fire, Jason worked in the kitchen getting together something special for their last night there. Once he'd made the Caesar salad and warmed the cannelloni that Mom had sent, he cut the bread and opened the other bottle of wine he'd brought. Dessert was more of Mama Scott's red velvet cake.

________________

Tommy got up from the couch after he'd finished his dessert and walked over to the softly lit Christmas tree. Taking a seat on the floor, he picked up the small package that he had brought for his boyfriend. Holding it up, he grinned and said, "Come over here--it's present time."

Jason grinned at him as he walked over. "So I guess by you giving me my present and me giving you yours, you'll stop pestering me about what's in the box?" He took a seat and pulled the box he'd wrapped at home closer.

"Yeah, this should put an end to that!" Tom laughed. "So, who goes first?"

Suddenly jumping up, Jason said, "Hang on . . . I forgot something!" He hurried back over to the coffee table and looked around and then went into the kitchen.

"What are you looking for?" Tommy called.

"Hang on, I remember where it is," Jason replied and finally came back in wearing his new Santa hat. "Now we can open presents!" he said with a big smile.

Tommy had to laugh. "Such a big kid . . . okay, so like I asked before, who goes first?"

"I will." He grinned and handed his boyfriend the box. "Merry Christmas, Tommy."

Taking the brightly-coloured box, Tommy smiled. "Thank you," he said sweetly and admired the great job Jason had done on the wrapping. A big red bow was tied around the width of the box and it had a nice tag hanging from it. It simply said, 'To Tommy From Jason. This will be the best Christmas yet!'

Jason couldn't help but grin. "You're welcome." He got up and went into the kitchen and brought back cups of spiced cider. Setting one on the table for his best friend, he took a sip of his own and sat back to watch.

"Ummm, that smells good," Tommy remarked as he was untying the bow. After he got the ribbon off, he picked up his cup and took a sip. "This is really good, Jase. You should make this more often!" With that, he went back to unwrapping his gift, but he was having trouble. "Did you use an entire roll of tape on this?!"

"I'll probably make some for the party." He chuckled softly. "Only about half a roll. Need a knife or something? I mean, if it's giving you that much trouble..."

"No, I can get it...just gimme a minute," he said with a grin. Finally, he got the paper off and got the box open. Inside, he found white tissue paper and . . . another box. Smaller than the first and wrapped in a different paper. "Awwww man!"

Quirking an eyebrow, the Gold Ranger looked over. "Problem there, oh-fearless-leader?"

"You beat all, you know that? I finally get into one box and there's another inside--wrapped just as tight. Man!" he exclaimed and set about unwrapping this second box.

"Well, look at it this way--you're getting more than one present." He leaned over and kissed him softly, then sat back and took another drink of his cider.

Tom smiled back at him. "Well, let's see what's in this box," he said when he finally got it open. He pulled aside the red tissue paper and found yet another box. "Jason!!" he exclaimed.

Jason fell back laughing. It was several moments before he could stop long enough to say anything. "Love you," he finally managed with tears rolling down his cheeks.

Meanwhile, Tommy had crawled over the top of him and mockingly glared down at him. "You're a pain in my ass!" he giggled and leaned in, kissing him deeply.

Wrapping his arms around the other man, Jason sighed softly as his hands stroked up and down the toned back. When they finally broke for air, he pressed his forehead against Tommy's. "Still have to get to your present."

"Yeah...if I ever get to the end of these boxes!" he quipped and pushed himself up and sat back down in his previous spot. He picked up the latest in the series of gift boxes and began tearing the paper off quickly. At first, he had been carefully opening them, but by now he was getting impatient.

Jason grinned, but didn't say anything. Instead, he just watched the person he loved opening a gift that he had put his heart into. He had come so close to losing Tommy and never having this chance. That had made him start searching shortly after Halloween for the perfect Christmas gift.

Tommy was sure that this was the last box. It was fairly small and he didn't think Jason could fit yet another box inside this one . . . wrong. As he pulled aside the green tissue paper he found the smallest box of all--a black velvet one with another red bow. A smile immediately crossed his face. He could tell by the size and shape that this could be a jewellery box. Looking up at his lover, he cocked his head to the side. "What did you do?"

"Thought about what you meant to me and what was important to you." He got up and moved closer, taking a seat beside him and putting his arms around Tommy's shoulders. "Asked a few questions of the right people and got you something I think you'll really like."

Leaning over, he placed a soft kiss on Jason's full lips. "I'm sure I'll love it," he whispered softly, his lips still barely touching his lover's. Moving back a little ways, he pulled the tail of the bow until it untied itself and then he slowly opened the little box. He found, nestled down inside, a silver band ring depicting a falcon in flight surrounded by tribal designs. Tommy's mouth fell open and he suddenly flung his arms around his boyfriend and squeezed him tight.

Jason hugged him back. "I take it that you like it?"

"I love it! Where did you get it?!"

"I had it made." He moved so that the Red Ranger was sitting between his legs and pulled him back until he rested against his chest. "I took a couple of trips out to the reservation--talked with Sam and David. They introduced me to one of the men that make their tribal jewellery and I told him what I wanted."

Tommy turned it over and over in his hands, examining every detail of the handmade ring. "It's beautiful...thank you so much, baby." He turned his head so that he could reach the Gold Ranger's mouth and placed a soft kiss there. "I love you," he whispered while gazing into those midnight eyes.

"I love you, too." He took the ring from him and carefully placed it on Tommy's right hand ring finger. "Looks good on you." Leaning forward, he bent his head and kissed him softly. "I know how important finding David was to you and how much it means that you know more about your family. I figured this was a way to combine your heritage with something that brought us together." He turned the ring around until the falcon was facing up. "I might not have been a Ninjetti, but we're both Rangers. The Falcon was an easy symbol to choose to represent that."

Tom leaned in slightly and touched his forehead to Jason's. "You're so thoughtful--I hope you love your gift as much as I love mine," he said with a smile. Straightening up, he picked up the box that still rested under the tree and handed it to his lover. "Here ya go."

Taking the box, Jason didn't move from his position. Opening it slowly, he grinned when his lover's knee started bouncing. Pausing, he reached over and picked up his mug, taking a long, slow drink and set it down again, taking his time.

"I didn't put it inside twelve boxes like you did, but I did wrap it myself," Tom offered with a laugh.

"I know. Just making you wait since you seem so impatient." He planted a kiss on the other teen's temple and finished opening the gift. Grinning, he held up the jewellery box. "Seems we both had the same idea."

He gasped softly as he opened the box. "Oh, Tom." Taking it out, he examined the solid silver band with a Celtic design overlay. "It's beautiful."

"You really like it? I thought it was perfect for you. There's even an inscription inside . . . look," the Red Ranger said happily, turning the ring in Jason's hand so that he could see the inside of it.

Looking closer, Jason grinned. "Jase- Mo anamchara- Tom" He leaned forward and kissed his teammate, letting it deepen for a moment before breaking it. "Do you know what it means?" He knew, but he was curious as to how much his lover had learned.

"Of course I know what it means--I had it engraved in there! It's 'My Soulmate' in Gaelic. I talked to your parents about something that would be special to you, so I knew I had to choose between Italian and Gaelic. You seem to really like the Celtic knotwork designs, so I went with Gaelic. Looked it up online and had it engraved," he smiled at his boyfriend.

"Just checking." He handed him the ring and held out his hand. "Put it on me?"

"I'll be glad to," he said and took Jason's outstretched right hand and placed the band on his ring finger. "Good, it fits. I was a little worried. So, you like it?" he asked anxiously.

"Definitely." He got up and moved in front of Tommy, then sat back down. Leaning forward, he captured his lover's soft, warm lips with his own. "Thank you." He reached his ringed hand up to gently stroke the face in front of him. "Seems we each put a bit of effort into finding something perfect."

"Well, it's our first Christmas together as a couple and I want it to be really special--something we won't forget. Kinda like this weekend," he said with a broad smile while he reached up to stroke the hand that was touching his face.

"I was thinking along those lines as well. Plus, I'm just happy that we're both here, together." He ran a thumb along the cheek beneath his hand. "I came so close to losing you... to losing my chance with you."

Tom glanced downward momentarily. "I know, but let's not think about that. I'm here, you're here, and our friendship has grown into something that I don't think either of us could have imagined. I feel so lucky to have you, Jase," he said softly and gently kissed the man in front of him.

Jason wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer. "I think we're lucky to have each other." He started kissing him again, letting his hands gently stroke his lover's back. "Love you so much."

"Mmmm, you too," Tom whispered, placing small kisses on Jason's neck as he nuzzled there.

After a few minutes of cuddling, Tommy suggested that Jason pick out another movie for them to watch while he tended to the fireplace. Once that was done, he turned off all the lights except the Christmas tree and disappeared upstairs briefly to collect some supplies that he thought they might have need of.

Jason had opted to pour them both a glass of the wine, finishing off the bottle. While watching a movie would be a great way to spend some time together, this would be their last time alone for a while. As Tommy went upstairs, he took the glasses and set them on the hearth of the fireplace before spreading the blankets and stuff back out.

Once that was arranged, he went over to the stereo and turned it to a channel that had instrumental Christmas songs. A quick sweep around the cabin assured him that everything was locked up tight. That was when he stretched out in front of the fire, propped up on his left arm while he used his right hand to lazily stroke his own stomach. Firelight glinting off of his ring caught his eye and he smiled softly as he brought the band up closer to inspect it once again.  
That they had both had similar thoughts didn't really surprise Jason, but the fact that Tom had chosen to get those specific words engraved into the band made the gift even more special.

Pausing at the bottom of the steps, Tommy looked at his lover stretched out in front of the fire. It was times like these that the Ranger Commander knew if his boyfriend had been a Ninjetti, Dulcea would have gifted him with some big jungle cat, for the Gold Ranger was nothing but sculpted muscle that tensed and flexed when in motion like a jaguar or lion on the prowl.  
He moved closer, then knelt next to the other teen catching his attention. "Come here, you." Pulling gently, Tommy drew his soul mate up until they were both kneeling in the soft pile of pillows and blankets. "You look so beautiful stretched out like that." A soft kiss punctuated each word, working from the edge of Jason's shoulder in towards his neck and up. A nip at the juncture of neck and jaw drew a soft gasp from the former Red Ranger before the spot was laved with a skilled tongue.

Tommy's hands settled on Jason's waistband, resting there while he began to once again explore the warm cavern of his boyfriend's mouth. A teasing lick to first one corner, then the other before sliding inside had the other boy groaning which only deepened when their tongues met.

There was no hurry in their movements as hands ghosted across skin, moving to run up and down toned backs or stroke along sculpted abs. Each caress was slow and drawn out. While hands worked bare skin, tongues duelled and played together, slowly stoking their inner fires back into existence.

After a while, they finally parted and Tommy rested his forehead against Jason's. "I want to make love to you." He pulled back so that he could look into the midnight eyes. "I want to take you slowly like we have all the time in the world."

"I'm not going anywhere, Tom. We've got all night and if that's what you want, there's nothing that I'd like better than to have you make love to me." He leaned in and softly kissed his lover. "Later, I plan on doing the same thing to you, but this time is all yours."

"Good." The Red Ranger grinned at the other young man. "Lay down, Rex."

Once his request had been carried out, Tommy stretched out beside him. Propping himself up on one arm, the Falcon let his hand drift up and down the toned stomach. After a few strokes, he let his hand run across a nipple, gently teasing the bud before pinching it and moving over to the other. This he did a few times before leaning in and capturing Jason's mouth once again. While he began to deepen the kiss, Tommy let his hand start playing with first one, then the other nipple, causing them to harden. Grinning, the long-haired teen slid on top of his friend, straddling the muscular hips and grinding himself slightly.

"I can see that someone's awake." Leaning forward, the Ranger Commander bent his head to the left nipple. Softly, he took the turgid peak into his mouth and suckled gently.

Jason let his hands stroke over his boyfriend's back, occasionally moving lower to squeeze a rounded cheek. When Tommy gently bit the bud he'd been working with his mouth, the Gold Ranger arched upward. "Ahh... feels good." He moved his hands upward and began to undo the braid that bound the long hair he loved. Once the strands were free, he began to card his fingers through the slightly damp locks. As some of the loose hair brushed over his other nipple, Jason was unable to stop the gasp that escape at the sensation. "Ahhhh."

Grinning, Tommy pulled more of his hair forward and let it graze the sensitive peak again, sending a shudder of pleasure through the body beneath him. "Hmmm, seems like something else can get you all worked up." He bent forward, letting his hair graze over both nipples while he captured the warm mouth once again. Stretching out against the body beneath him, the Ranger Commander let his hands drift downward.

For several minutes, he concentrated on the kiss, letting it deepen slowly as their tongues gently battled one another for dominance. Gradually, he began to work his way down his lover's body. He took the time to gently nip, suck and lave each dip and hot spot of the chiselled chest and stomach. When he got to the waist, he moved back to kneel between the toned thighs and looked up at Jason. "Lift your hips for me."

Nodding, Jason lifted his hips enough for Tommy to remove the sleep pants he'd been wearing. He'd barely gotten resettled in the pillows when he felt a light nip on the inside of his thigh. "Mmmm, Tommy." Anything else he was going to say was turned into a long groan as his shaft was licked from top to bottom.

Just like he'd slowly worked and savoured the other parts of his lover's body, the Red Zeo Ranger was taking his time with his boyfriend's hardened member. Soft kisses, gentle grazes with his teeth and long, slow strokes of his tongue had the other man leaking before he even took the silky, warm head into his mouth. A quiet moan came from the Ranger Commander as he closed his lips over the head and gently sucked the essence that already rested there from its well. "Mmmmmm," He let the vibrations carry through to the hot, hard shaft as he slowly sank down, taking more into his mouth.

Jason grabbed hold of the blankets beneath him to stop himself from bucking his hips upward at the delicious sensation. "Awww, yes... so good." A hand on his hip had the Gold Ranger raising his head enough to watch what his lover was doing. The site of Tommy going down on his thick rod, his hair loose and framing that beautiful face made him even harder. "Oh man... please Tommy... need you."

Tommy hummed around the cock in his mouth, then made his way up to the head. He circled the crown with his tongue before flicking at the slit, causing his boyfriend to thrust upwards. Chuckling softly, he blew over the tip and garnered a mewling sound from the burly teen. With his free hand, the Ranger Commander reached out and grabbed the lube he'd brought down earlier. Opening the bottle, he applied a generous amount to his fingers, then moved his hand down between the twin globes. He let one finger begin to tease the puckered opening while he leaned forward and captured those warm, soft lips once again.

As the lubed digit slipped inside, the long-haired teen's tongue sought entrance to Jason's mouth. Willingly, it opened beneath him and Tommy swallowed the moan that came from his boyfriend as the preparation for what was to follow began. Again, there was no hurry as he slowly worked first one finger, then two in and out of the tight opening. Tongues at first duelled lightly, then increased in intensity as a third finger was added to the mix.

When those long fingers began to brush his prostrate, Jason moaned loudly in pleasure. "YEESSS.... please Tom... I need more...." He reached a hand up and brushed it tenderly along his lover's cheek. "Need you inside of me." Cupping his hand behind his soul mate's neck, he pulled him into another deep kiss. With his free hand, he found the bottle of lube Tommy had set aside and opened it. Sitting up slightly, he applied some of the cool gel to his hand before reaching out and taking hold of his partner's shaft. Loosely, he began to stroke the silk covered steel until it was generously coated. Then he laid back and met those chocolate eyes that were dilated with desire. "Make love to me, Tommy."

When Jason had taken hold of his cock, it had been a battle not to start thrusting into his boyfriend's hand. More than anything, as he settled once again between the burly teen's thighs, it was his words that meant the most to him. He pushed Jason's knees up towards the sculpted chest before he began to enter him slowly. Inch by inch, he slid into that carefully prepared channel until he could go no further. Leaning in, he softly kissed Jason. When the teen beneath him shifted slightly, the Falcon pulled almost all the way out before sliding home once again.

Minutes passed as Tommy kept up the long, slow strokes in and out of his lover's body. That tight, hot channel cradled his cock and begged him to move faster. Tonight, however, was theirs and he was going to take his time. It was Jason that cracked first.

"Faster Tommy, please." As his partner began to comply, Jason started meeting his thrusts. He moved his legs to encircle his lover, drawing him closer. The change in angle caused him to gasp aloud as that glorious inner pleasure center was brushed time and again. His breathing began to speed up and his hands began to move. Fingers found hardened nipples on the chest above him only to pinch, pull and roll them, gaining gasps of pleasure. The hand he had used to coat the rod that now joined them intimately found its way to Tommy's opening. For a few thrusts, Jason just teased the puckered opening, but then he slipped inside as his lover thrust forward.

The increased force of that thrust seemed to be a signal. Tommy picked up his pace once again, moving faster and harder into the body of his soul mate. Breaths came faster and he leaned forward more, letting him sink in that final bit and trapping Jason's own erection between them. Each thrust created friction that drove each teen closer to the edge. Reaching between them, Jason grabbed hold of his own weeping cock and began stroking it in time with Tommy's thrusts.

"So good... almost there... close... so close..." The words were practically forced out between breaths as Jason felt the tell-tale tingling begin at the base of his spine. Another few strokes and the burly teen came hard. "Tommy!"

The clenching of his lover's muscles around his cock forced the Ranger Commander over the edge and he sank himself deep inside Jason as his essence was emptied into his boyfriend. A few thrusts later and he stilled, his head coming to rest on the still heaving, sweat-slicked chest beneath him.

For several minutes, it was all they could do to just regain their breath. Jason brought a hand up and began to stroke his boyfriend's back. When the chocolate eyes turned to him, he leaned up a bit and captured the soft lips. "Thank you, babe."

Grinning slightly, Tommy returned the kiss. "Trust me, it was my pleasure." With another kiss, he pulled back slightly. "Love you." He sighed and reached out, pulling one of the blankets up over them. Turning his head again, he rested it over Jason's heart before closing his eyes and drifting off into a light sleep.

"Love you, too." As the soft strokes along the back of his lover slowed, Jason shifted them both a bit, moaning softly as Tommy slipped from inside of him. Turning onto his side, he held the other teen close and joined him in sleep.  
_______________

Sleeping in as late as they could, both boys eventually pulled themselves from the big, comfortable bed and took care of nature before heading downstairs to get some breakfast.

"Man, our last morning here. It's gone by too fast," Tommy remarked as he watched Jason stirring the eggs.

His boyfriend nodded. "Yeah, it has. Oh yeah, remind me to call the folks before we start for home. I don't want them worrying too much."

"Alright, will do."

Once breakfast was ready, they sat down together to eat. Without thinking, Tommy took a seat on the bar stools that surrounded the kitchen island.

"Oooh, no . . . bad idea," he said with a grimace, popping back up quickly.

Jason chuckled softly. "A little sore there?"

"Considering you tried to split me in half again last night, yeah . . . a little sore. You try it."

"No that's okay, I believe you," the Gold Ranger said with a grin and headed toward the living room. "The couch will do me fine."

As they ate, they talked over the list of things that they had to get done before they could start heading for home.

"Gotta wash the towels and sheets," Jason offered.

"Yep. And make sure we turn off and cover the hot tub. Oh, and we need to make sure the fireplace is taken care of."

"Right. If we put a lot of water in the tree stand, the Christmas tree should be okay when Uncle John gets up here this weekend. The heat won't be on in the house, so it should keep pretty well."

"Did you get enough pictures of our first Christmas tree? And our first snowman?" Tommy asked with a smile.

"Oh yeah, I sure did. So the party is tomorrow night. Think we'll be able to keep our hands off each other in front of our friends?" Jason grinned.

After taking another bite of his omelet, Tommy answered. "No, probably not, but they need to just get used to that. I don't see it changing any time soon."

"Me either."

The breakfast dishes washed and put away and the kitchen cleaned up, the boys set to putting everything in order in the beautiful lake house that they had called home for the extended weekend.

"I'll take care of the hot tub and fireplace if you'll strip the bed down and get the towels from the bathroom. You _do_ know how to wash clothes, don'tcha?" Jason kidded.

"Yes, Jerkface—I know how to do laundry. Just take care of your stuff and I'll take care of mine," Tom countered with a smile.

"Don't forget to get the lube and stuff from the nightstands—that wouldn't be good!"

"No kiddin'!" Tommy agreed. "I'll get everything."

Meeting up back down in the kitchen once they'd finished their respective chores, they began putting the remainder of their food back in the cooler. After that was put into the truck, they only had to take the linens from the dryer and put them away.

"Well, I guess that's it. Ready to head home?" Jason asked, standing in the living room with Tommy.

"No, but I guess we don't have much choice, do we?" Tom responded, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. "It's been really nice being all alone with you. We're gonna have to do this again very soon." He leaned in and gave Jason a soft kiss.

"Absolutely. Think John will agree to it?"

"I don't see why not. We took good care of the place and we're leaving it in order. As long as he doesn't find out that it's our private love shack, he'll let us come back," Tommy grinned.

"Love shack, huh? I'll buy that," Jason responded, picking out a spot on his boyfriend's neck to attack.

"You've got two hours to stop that or I'm gonna get upset," Tommy whispered, moving his head to give the other man better access.

Once he'd put a nice-sized mark on his lover's olive skin, Jason pulled away and sighed. He could feel himself getting hard as he stood there, hands on Tommy's ass. "We'd better go or we're gonna get something started again."

"Agreed," Tommy replied reluctantly, touching foreheads with Jason. "Let's go." There was a definite sadness in his voice as neither one wanted to get back to the 'real world'. Slowly they turned and walked out the door, taking care to lock it behind them.

******

As Jason drove along the highway, he had to keep reminding himself to stay alert. Even though the roads had been cleared and he hadn't encountered any slick spots didn't mean that they weren't there. Black ice is extremely dangerous and he knew it.

Tommy was bored. There wasn't a lot for the two of them to talk about at the moment and the radio kept cutting in and out because of the terrain. Plus, there was only so much landscape that you could look at. Suddenly, he grinned and laid one of his hands on Jason's leg, then began using his nails to make circles on it through the denim. "What are you thinking about?"

The Gold Ranger jumped a bit at the contact then he grinned. "Well, up until this moment, I was thinking about keeping the truck on the road. What are _you_ thinking about?!"

"About how long it's going to be until we can actually spend some time alone together." He let his hand drift towards his lover's inner thigh and began stroking up towards his crotch and back down, keeping it light and teasing.

Jason smiled. "Oh, it won't be that long. You're gonna stay over after the party tomorrow night, right?" He leaned over and quickly kissed his lover.

"Yeah, but that's still almost a whole day." He followed him back after the kiss, stretching the seat belt a bit. Grinning he licked at his partner's earlobe. "Now I'm thinking that maybe I need a snack." He lowered his voice as he spoke. "Know of where I can find something nice and thick, maybe a little salty..." He let his hand rest over the growing bulge in Jason's jeans. "...to satisfy me?"

Eyes growing larger along with his grin, Jason cleared his throat. "Damn..." he muttered and tried to keep his mind on driving. "Tom...I'm driving here. Behave yourself!"

"Well, then I suggest you find a parking area." He leaned down and pulled the shirt out of his lover's pants, then pushed it up and started planting kisses over the warm skin. When he came to the navel, he inserted his tongue and moaned softly while he continued to stroke the denim covered bulge.

Jason jumped again when Tommy reached his navel, but tried again to concentrate on the task at hand. "Okay, I'll try...but don't distract me too much right yet. We still could hit some ice." He knew his dad would have a fit if he wrecked the SUV--once he was sure that they were alright, of course. He smiled at Tommy and shook his head. "Who's the sex fiend now, huh?"

The Red Ranger sat up again, but didn't move his hand. Instead, he unbuttoned the other man's jeans and slid his hand inside. "Mmmm, not sure. Just want to make sure you know what you're going to miss until tomorrow night."

"I've got a pretty good idea!" About that time, he saw a sign for a parking area coming up in ten miles. "Okay, there we go--can you control yourself for ten more miles?" he laughed.

"Better make it a quick, but safe, ten miles." He grew a bit serious. "If it gets to be too much, let me know." He dipped his hand into the boxers and began to lightly stroke the hard prize that just begged for attention.

"Mmm...okay," Jason said, a bit breathless. "You're gonna be in trouble though as soon as I get this truck in park, you know that right?"

Tommy grinned wickedly. "Are you saying you're going to punish me for being a bad boy?" He flicked his tongue out to wet his lips. "Hmmm, might have to see what other trouble I can get into then." He tightened his grip slightly and began to stroke the shaft he held, rubbing this thumb over the slit when he reached the head.

"Well, being that neither of us is exactly innocent, I guess we'll have to punish each other. I'm still gonna tie you up one of these days," he said in a low, sexy growl.

"Promises, promises." He squeezed the cock in his hand. "Can't wait to taste you again."

Just the thoughts of that sent another rush of blood to Jason's already throbbing member. "It's mutual, believe me." A few minutes later he was pulling off the highway and finding a parking spot away from the few cars that were already there. Putting the truck in park and shutting off the engine, he turned toward his lover to ask if he wanted to move this party to the back seat, but before he could utter a sound, he was jumped by the man next to him.

Tommy let go of his lover's cock and captured the warm lips with his own. He bit lightly at the bottom lip until he was granted entry into that warm cavern and set to mapping its contours once again. His hands went beneath the shirt and started stroking the warm skin, teasing first one, then the other nipple into hardness.

Jason's hands weren't idle as he began pulling Tommy's shirt loose from his jeans and found the smooth, warm skin underneath. Once that was accomplished, one hand went to his boyfriend's hair, skimming through the long, brown silk and grasping the back of his head. When Tommy went to work on his nipples, he couldn't help but moan into his lover's mouth.

Breaking for air, the Red Ranger leaned his forehead against his lover's. "Want to move this somewhere with more room?"

Panting slightly, Jason nodded. "I was going to suggest that before you stuck your tongue down my throat," he said with a grin. They simultaneously opened the doors to the SUV and slid into the back seat after tossing a few things into the back. Just to be safe, they locked the doors. The Gold Ranger grasped Tommy by the waist once again and pulled him into his chest. "Now...where were we?" he asked in his deep, sultry voice and immediately went to work on his lover's neck.

Tommy turned his head a bit, giving his lover better access while he worked on pushing the jeans down that covered the toned buttocks. When he had enough room, he slipped his hands into the boxers and began to fondle the twin globes while pulling those trim hips in tighter.

Nipping, licking, and sucking all along his boyfriend's neck, Jason finally latched onto the spot that he knew drove Tommy nuts. He felt his lover's body tense up and his breathing quicken. While he had him somewhat distracted, he slipped his hand down and made quick work of the button and zipper on Tommy's jeans. Boxers bypassed, he found the prize he'd been after.

Tommy bucked his hips upward when Jason's hand encircled his erect member. He groaned softly and looked at Jason. "Think we can manage a 69 here?" He was panting slightly and his voice had turned slightly husky with desire.

Jason thought for a second as he caught his breath. "Maybe if we lay this seat flat, we might have room. It'll still be tight, but it might work." He looked out the window to see if anyone was close by. "You know we could get in trouble if we get caught, right?"

"Yeah I know, but I'm willing to take the risk. Are you?" He was already moving so that he could lay the seat down.

"Yeah, I guess it'll be okay. There aren't that many people around and the windows are tinted. Let's go," he said with a grin and helped his lover unlatch the seat so that it could fold down. They only had to shove a few things out of the way to make room for them to lie down and stretch out beside each other.

****NC-17 Section Removed--Ask for Full Version if you'd like to read it****

Once Jason had worked him over, they rested against each other, lightly stroking skin and hair. "We'd better get ourselves together and get back on the road. We've still got a couple of hours ahead of us," Jason remarked, twirling a long strand of Tommy's hair around his finger.

"Yeah, okay. Better call Mom again—it's been a couple of hours since she heard from you," Tommy said, knowing that the Scotts, at least, were concerned about them getting home safely.

"True. I'll do that," Jason said, sitting up and beginning to straighten out his clothes.

Just then, there was a tap at the driver's side window. Both young men jumped and struggled to finish redressing themselves as quickly as they could. Jason leaned up and tried to see who was doing the tapping.

"Oh shit, it's a cop!" he whispered.

"Fuck!" Tommy exclaimed as quietly as he could, getting his jeans zipped at last. "What do we do?!"

"Just lay still like you're asleep—I'll make something up. Turn away from the door and be still," he directed as he reached over and opened the back door on the same side as the police officer. "Yes sir?" he asked, trying to sound sleepy. He rubbed his eyes and squinted when the sun hit him.

"Everything okay in here?" the tall, California Highway Patrol officer asked.

"Yes sir, we're fine. Is something wrong?" Jason asked, nervously.

"Can you step out of the vehicle, please?"

'_Oh shit, what does he want? Dad'll kill me!'_ Jason thought to himself, being quick to comply with the officer's request.

'_Damn it, damn it . . . this could be bad,'_ Tommy thought, trying his best to stay still.

Once the Gold Ranger had gotten out, the man briefly looked into the back of the truck. He could see someone in a long-sleeved red t-shirt with long, dark hair lying there, apparently asleep, but he didn't make a move to get Tommy out of the truck.

"Can I see your license and registration, please?" the officer asked politely.

Jason pulled his wallet from his back pocket and produced his license, handing it to the man. "The registration should be in the glove box—this is my dad's SUV," he admitted. Moving around to the passenger's side door, he opened it and began to search through the dashboard compartment for the registration card.

"Here it is," he finally said, handing it to the officer.

Upon examination, Officer Talbot could see that the last names and addresses matched, so he decided that everything was in order. "Sorry about this. There's been a rash of auto thefts in this area lately—mostly SUVs like this one. When I saw the truck parked off by itself, I thought it might be one of the stolen vehicles that had been abandoned."

"Oh, I see," Jason said, visibly relieved. "We were just taking a bit of a nap—long drive back to Angel Grove, ya know."

"Is that your girlfriend?" the officer asked, indicating the figure in the back of the truck.

'_Girlfriend?! Okay…just go with it,'_ he thought. "Umm yeah. Yeah, it is."

"Heavy sleeper, huh?" the officer asked with a smile, seeing that 'she' hadn't moved much.

"You have no idea," Jason laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, be careful on the road. Get home safely," the officer said and returned to his car.

Jason turned and climbed into the front seat of the Suburban, sighing loudly. All at once he burst out laughing. "Okay _girlfriend_…you can get up now!" he said to Tommy.

Tension broken, Tommy too laughed out loud, glad that the little scare was over. "Damn man . . . that could've been baaaad--what with your dad being a cop and all," he said, brushing his hair out of his face.

"No kiddin'. Guess I'll have to call you _Tammy _from now on," Jason laughed. "Good thing he didn't want you to get out too! I can hear it now, 'Yeah, she's got a bit of a hormone problem—that's why she has a goatee thicker than yours!'"

"You are such an ass . . ." Tommy said with a chuckle. "Let's get going, huh?"

Back out on the highway again, they fell into companionable silence as each thought over the monumental weekend that they had just shared, neither wanting to go back to their daily lives just yet. At some point, Tommy ended up asleep against Jason's shoulder—the Red Ranger peacefully dreaming with a slight smile on his lips. At the moment, all was happy and right with the world.

* * *

_Author's Notes: Well, again I have to say how sorry I am for the delay in posting this chapter. Now that the holidays are over with, I should be able to get my life back to normal! Thanks for all the reviews and messages I've gotten—I really appreciate the kind words!! Please keep reviewing!_


	34. Unwelcome Guests

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****: **Major thanks to my best friend and co-authoress, prophet144!! You're the best, girl! You keep me sane. Again guys, sorry for such a long delay—I wish I could get paid to stay at home and write fan fiction, then it wouldn't take so long to get these chapters out!

**Chapter 34--Unwelcome Guests**

Rolling over first one way and then the other, Tommy tried his level best to stay asleep, but he just couldn't manage it.

"Damn," he sighed and stared at the ceiling. He'd been having a pretty nice dream about his significant other and wanted to continue it, but the winter sun streaming through the blinds and hitting him directly in the eyes had other ideas.

"What time is it anyway?" he mumbled and craned his neck to see his alarm clock. "Whoa, it's almost eleven--surprised Mom hasn't been up here yelling for me to get my lazy ass out of the bed." He thought about that for a minute and then grinned. "Maybe she's out shopping," he hoped.

As he laid there enjoying the peace and quiet and the softness of his bed, Tommy's mind starting wandering back to the weekend that he'd just spent with Jason. He absentmindedly twisted his new ring around on his finger, thinking about the beautiful young man that he now called his boyfriend.

After a few false starts, they had at last succeeded in making love to each other—the final consummation of their relationship. It had been a bit scary and clumsy at first, but they had quickly gotten the hang of it.

'_Wonder what he's doing right now? Mama Scott probably has him up and helping her with the party prep,'_ he thought. _'I should get over there and help out too,'_ he decided and rolled out of bed to get showered and dressed.

While he gathered his clothes and shoved an extra outfit in a bag, he recalled a bit more of the weekend. After their little tryst in the back of the Suburban that was interrupted by a cop, they recovered from their near-heart failure and made their way on back to Angel Grove. Jason had realized that they couldn't very well give each other a proper goodbye in Tommy's driveway, so he'd pulled over into one of their favourite parking areas so that they could steal a few goodnight kisses. Several minutes passed while the boys explored each other's mouths and bodies.

"Really wish this weekend didn't have to end," Jason said, nuzzling Tommy's neck.

"Yeah, me too. My bed's gonna seem awfully empty tonight."

"Mmm-hmmm," Jason agreed. "But you're staying over after the party, so it's just one night."

"True," Tommy responded and got lost in thought, even as his boyfriend was working on his collarbone. "It sure will be nice when we get our own place," he finally said.

Jason pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Distracted much?"

"Sorry, I just don't wanna go home, ya know?" A thought suddenly occurred to him. "You didn't put any visible marks on me, did ya?" he asked, pulling down the sun visor and opening the mirror, examining his neck and jaw.

"Not unless she sees your hipbones, inner thighs, or stomach," Jason responded. "Relax, will ya?"

"I can't, Jase—you know that. She already suspects," Tommy said, a worried look crossing his face.

"Here, let me look," Jason said, taking his best friend's face in his hand and turning it toward him. He carefully looked over every inch of Tommy's face and neck to make sure there weren't any 'passion marks' visible. "You're clean. Now, check me out," he said, requesting that his friend reciprocate.

"All clear," Tommy said, once he'd given his boyfriend the once-over.

Arriving at the Olivers' house, both young men noticed the curtains move in the living room. "She's watching, better make this quick," Tommy said, leaning over to give Jason a nice, friendly, platonic hug.

"I'll call you in a few hours when we're both in bed, 'k?" Jason said.

A grin crossed Tom's face. "Sounds like a plan. See you tomorrow, bro."

With that, he pulled his duffle bag from the back seat and headed toward the door, turning to give his lover a wave. Jason had watched him go into the house and then carefully backed out of the driveway.

As Tommy was getting into the shower next morning, he recalled how things had gone when he'd gotten into the house.

Mrs. Oliver had looked up from her chair in the living room as soon as he had closed the front door. "Tommy? That you?"

'_Who the fuck else would it be?'_ he thought but said, "Yeah Mom, it's me."

"Well come in here, let me see you."

'_You mean inspect and interrogate me, don'tcha?'_ Tommy obliged her and slowly shuffled into the living room, taking care to stick his right hand deep into his pocket to hide his ring. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. Have a good time?" she asked, looking him over from stem to stern.

"Oh yeah, it was a blast. Took a hike, got some snow saucers and rode down the hill behind the house, built a snowman...stuff like that."

"Anyone else show up or was it just you and Jason all weekend?"

"Just us," he said simply and stopped but the look on her face made him continue. "What? It was fine, Mom. Mama Scott made us plenty of food and you know that little town that's nearby? We went there to get any groceries we needed. We just enjoyed the snow, the fireplace, and the hot tub," he answered, sounding casual.

Tilting her head and lowering her eyebrows, Mrs. Oliver asked, "_Mama_ Scott?"

"Yeah...that's what we call her. The whole gang calls her that—don't take it personally."

She nodded, looking unconvinced.

Tommy cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Where's Dad?"

"He was out in the garage last time I checked. A bit cold for tinkering, don't you think?"

Michael Oliver often spent time in their garage that doubled as a workshop of sorts. More often than not, if he was out there, he was drinking.

"Oh...great. I think I'll get upstairs before he comes in, if you don't mind," Tommy stated, turning to go.

"Alright. Well, I'm sure you're tired. Throw your dirty clothes into the hamper—not on your bedroom floor, okay?"

"Okay. I am tired, so I'm probably gonna just go ahead and go to bed. See you tomorrow, 'k?" he said, leaning over and kissing her lightly on the cheek.

Climbing out of the shower the next morning, he grabbed a towel and wrapped his hair up before haphazardly drying off his body. Looking down, he noticed a few small dark spots on his lower abdomen—"passion marks" courtesy of Jason.

'_Wonder how many of those I have on me,' _he wondered with a grin, walking back into his room to check things out in his full-length mirror. In the space between his waist and knees, he counted seven small to medium-sized bruises with a few more showing up on his back.

'_Damn Jase...freakin' vampire,'_ he laughed and then turned to start dressing himself. Just as he dropped the towel on the floor, there was a knock on his door.

"Tommy?" his mother's voice called.

"Yeah? What is it?" he responded. _'Shit, I thought she was out.'_

"I need your dirty clothes—can you open the door?"

"Ummm, I just got out of the shower. Gimme a minute," he said, picking up the towel and covering himself again.

"I need them now—I don't have all day to get the laundry done. I still have Christmas stuff to do," she answered, sounding irritated.

"Okay, but I'm sorta naked right now. Can you give me two minutes?"

She sighed loudly enough for Tommy to hear her through the door. "It's not like I've never seen you naked before, son."

"Not lately you haven't!"

"Something changed?" she asked, chuckling.

"Mom!"

"Okay, okay. Just bring 'em downstairs in the next ten minutes. Ten minutes! I've got a lot to do!"

"Fine," he answered, tossing the towel aside and pulling on his boxers. He quickly finished dressing and got his dirty laundry together to take downstairs, making sure there was no incriminating evidence in the pile.

Braiding his wet hair and adding that towel to the stack, he picked the whole load up and walked downstairs with it.

"Here ya go—where you want it?" he asked his mom when he practically ran her over in the kitchen.

"On the washer will be fine—separate the lights and darks, please," she answered, heading into the dining room with the table linens she was carrying.

"You got it." He dropped the load on top of the washing machine and starting sorting, getting lost in thought about the party.

A minute or so later, he felt his braid being lifted from behind. "Don't you think it's about time you got a haircut? I mean, really . . ."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"It's gonna be down to your ass in six more months," Mrs. Oliver quipped.

"So I'll cut it then," he answered nonchalantly. "Besides, it's my right as a Native American to have long hair if I choose. The school can't make me cut it."

She stopped just short of rolling her eyes at him. "You're not full-blooded, ya know."

"Three quarters is close enough," he huffed.

"Yeah, okay. And that goatee . . . Halloween's over, Tommy."

"Hey! I happen to like my facial hair—and my friends like it too. I'm guessing you don't, huh?" he asked, still sorting and trying not to get into anything with her.

"Well . . . I just don't think it's appropriate for a high school kid. You sorta look like you oughta be on the back of a motorcycle," she answered.

"Cool—I'll borrow Jase's," he said, giving her a half-hearted grin.

Just when he thought that she was going to go away and leave him alone, Mrs. Oliver noticed a glint of light reflecting off of something on her son's hand.

"What's this?" she asked, reaching out and grabbing Tommy's right hand.

'_Fuck! I forgot about the ring!'_ "It's a ring," he answered, not looking her in the eyes.

"I can see that. Where did it come from?" she asked sternly.

The young man sighed and turned to face her. "It was a Christmas present . . . from Jase."

"He gave you a ring for Christmas? A band ring at that?"

Tommy decided to play it cool—not act like it was any big deal. "Yeah, it's really cool. Look at it—it has a falcon on it--he had it made out at the reservation."

"Did he? I see." She paused, looking like she was trying to think of what to say next. "This kind of ring mean anything or is it just jewellery? I don't know much about Native traditions, ya know."

"Nope, just a ring. I guess you could say it symbolizes our friendship, but really it's just a nice piece of jewellery.

He wasn't sure if that explanation really satisfied her or if she was just giving up for the moment, but either way, she went about her business and left him to finish sorting his dirty clothes. Once he was finished, he went back upstairs and made a call to Jason.

"Good morning," Tommy said to his boyfriend when he answered.

"Morning? Just barely. You just now gettin' up?" Jason chuckled.

"Well no, I've been up for about an hour—took a shower, packed a bag for tonight, sorted my dirty clothes, got interrogated by Mom . . . you know, the usual."

"Interrogated? About what?"

"The ring—I forgot to take it off and she spotted it."

"It's just a ring. Why should you have to hide it?" Jason asked, shaking his head.

"I shouldn't have to—that's the point. Think 'Mama' would mind if I go ahead and come over? Maybe I can help out or something," he pleaded.

"You know you don't even have to ask. I've told you and my folks have told you—come over whenever you want. As for the party, yeah, I could use some help," Jason grinned.

"Cool. I'll be over in about twenty minutes then." He paused and when he spoke again his voice had taken on a warm, sultry quality. "Missed you last night. I had gotten used to sharing my bed with you."

Jason smiled and chuckled softly. "Yeah, same here. We'll get reacquainted tonight, though."

"Looking forward to it. See you in a few."

Hanging up, Tommy stuck his cell phone into his jeans pocket and picked up the duffle bag that he'd packed earlier. He descended the steps and headed into the kitchen to let his mom know where he was off to.

"Well, I'm going over to Jase's now. See you later," he said, still walking toward the door that opened into the garage.

"Whoa, hang on. You're going over there now?" she asked, looking up from a list she'd been making.

"Yeah. The party's tonight, remember? They need some help getting everything ready so I said I'd come lend a hand."

"Well you know, Tommy, I could use some help around _here_ too."

'_Don't do this now. Please.'_ "Mom, I have to go help. Mama Scott," he started, but paused when she got a disgusted look on her face. ". . . _Mrs._ Scott is throwing this party for me and Jase and all of our friends. I have to help out—I told her I would a couple of weeks ago when she planned it."

Margaret Oliver let out a deep sigh and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Don't be out late," she said, looking back down at her list and shaking her head.

"Ummm . . . I'm spending the night. I told you about that already," he said, knowing that that little piece of information was just going to make it worse.

"You just got home last night from being with him for a whole weekend. You barely spoke to us when you got home and now you're going over there again for the night? Why do you bother to come home, Thomas? Just go," she said, refusing to look at him. She only gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Fine," Tommy said simply and headed outside, thankful that his dad was nowhere in sight.

Starting up his truck, he sat there for a minute to let it warm up. _'Man . . . five more months. I honestly don't know if I can make it,'_ he thought, sighing deeply.

All the way over to the Scotts' house, he mulled over his options. _'Well let's see . . . there are three places that I can go—the res, Jason's house, and the Power Chamber. Every one of them has drawbacks, but it might be better than staying at home. If I go to the res and stay with Sam and David, I'll have to change schools—don't wanna do that during my senior year. I know the Scotts would welcome me, but I really don't wanna impose on them. And the Power Chamber, well . . . it'd get awfully lonely but I guess it's doable.'_

Before he knew it, he was turning onto Jason's street. _'I gotta cheer myself up some—this is a party,' _he thought, plastering a pleasant smile on his face to hide the turmoil inside. _'If Mama Scott catches me being broody it'll mean a sit down talk.'_

Jason had finished getting dressed when he heard a car outside. Looking out the window, he recognized Tommy's truck and grinned. Heading down the stairs, he walked over to the door and went outside, meeting his boyfriend in the driveway. His grin slipped slightly when he noticed that the former Green Ranger's smile didn't reach his eyes.

Sighing deeply, Tommy tried to will himself to be in a better mood. "Hey Jase. How's the party prep going?"

"Not bad. Mom's been cooking up a storm." He walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. To anyone on the street, it'd look like he was comforting a friend. "So you want to tell me what's got you down?"

Tommy looked him right in the eyes. "I'll give you three guesses...first two don't count."

Sighing heavily, Jason ran the hand that had been on Tom's shoulder through his own hair. "What'd your mom say or do this time? Was it the 'interrogation' you told me about?"

"Well let's see...she doesn't like my hair, she doesn't like my goatee, she's mad that I'm staying the night over here because we just got back from our trip, and she looked like she was going to have a fit when she saw my ring. That enough? I could probably think of a few other things if I tried."

For a moment, the Original Red Ranger did nothing but breathe. He wanted to rip out what passed for Mrs. Oliver's heart and stomp on it a few times, but then again, he might get frostbite if he touched her. After a moment, he gently turned Tommy around and looked at the long braid hanging down his friend's back. "I think your hair looks fine." He moved to stand in front of Tommy. "And the goatee makes you look more mature." He grinned. "Less baby-faced."

With a half-hearted grin, Tommy looked into Jason's face. "Thanks...I think she's the only one that has a problem with how I look." He stopped for a moment. "Your mom hasn't said anything has she?" Oddly enough, he was more concerned with what his friend's mother thought than what his own did.

"About what? It 'ending up' being only us at the cabin all weekend long? The ring?" He shook his head. "She hasn't said anything about any of it, least not to me."

"No, I mean about my hair or my goatee. Mom said it wasn't appropriate for a high school kid. That I looked like I should be in a motorcycle gang or something. I don't want your mom to think I'm some kind of bum."

"She hasn't said anything about that to me, but if you want her opinion on it, ask her." He returned his hand to Tommy's shoulder. "She doesn't think like your mom, bro."

"Maybe I will sometime." He took a deep breath, trying to settle himself. "You're not ashamed of me, are you? Cause if you want me to shave or something, I will." With that, he looked down at the ground, his insecurities getting the best of him all of a sudden.

Frowning, Jason reached out a hand and gently lifted his lover's chin until he could look into the chocolate pools. "I am not ashamed of you. In all the years that we've known each other, I've never been ashamed of you. Not even when you were evil and trying to kill me. Then, I wanted to help free you from Rita's control and hopefully be your friend." He stepped closer to the other teen, wanting nothing more than to put his arms around him and hold him. "I love you, Tom." Not caring about the possibility of being seen, Jason wrapped his arms around his partner, offering him the comfort he so obviously needed.

Needing the hug, but feeling very vulnerable out in the open, Tommy whispered in Jason's ear. "I love you too...maybe we should go up to your room or something though. I don't want you to get in trouble." They pulled back from each other and, after grabbing Tom's duffle bag, headed inside and up to Jason's room.

Once inside his room, the Gold Ranger shut and locked his door, then went over to his boyfriend. Again, he wrapped his arms around the teen and pulled him in close. "I'm here for you."

Returning the embrace, Tommy said softly, "I know--and you always have been. Wish I could return the favour someday."

"You loving me back is good enough." He turned his head, slightly nuzzling the neck in front of him for a moment. "I can talk to you about things, especially those that are ranger-related, and you understand. And if something happens to me, which given some of our activities it could, I know that you'll return the favour."

"Definitely, but I don't wanna think about anything happening to you. I can't stand the thought. But you're right that it's nice to have someone to talk to that understands everything you're dealing with...even the weird ranger stuff." He paused, thinking about that for a moment. "Won't it be strange when neither of us has powers anymore?"

"We've already been there once, remember? I just went without for a bit longer than you did. It sucks for a few weeks, but gradually you get used to being 'normal' again."

Tom chuckled. "Our normal and other people's normal are two completely different things, I think. But it will be nice to be able to plan something without really having to worry about it being interrupted--by giant monsters, anyway."

"True." He leaned in and kissed his boyfriend. "You feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I am. Thanks, bro," Tommy said and gave his boyfriend a soft kiss on the cheek. "Why don't we go ahead and help your mom? I'm sure she could use a hand."

"Yeah, she can." He chuckled softly. "Just watch where you put your fingers."

"Unless I want to get them smacked, right?"

"Or stabbed. Dad has a scar on the back of his hand from where she forked him once."

"Damn...Mama plays hardball, don't she?! Okay, I'll be careful--let's go," Tommy said, smiling and heading toward the door.

()()()()()()()

Theresa Scott pulled the pan of lasagne from the oven and set it on a hot pad to cool, then deftly reached out a hand and swatted her son before he could snag some of the bubbling cheese. "Don't you dare, Jason Lee."

"Hehe...but Mom! It's tradition!" he said with a grin. "You cook, I taste."

Tommy watched them with a smile. _'Some things never change,'_ he thought.

"You'll be tasting from your bedroom if you try that again, mister." She put her hands on her hips and looked at both of the boys. "If you're hungry, you can go grab two of the pigs-in-a-blanket, each." She then shook a finger at her son. "But if I catch you poking fingers into that cake again mister, I'm gonna make you sit and watch while the others all get a piece before you."

Jason felt like he was five years old again, but he didn't mind. His mom was so cute when she got worked up. "Yes ma'am, we'll behave. Won't we?" he asked, looking at his best friend.

"Oh absolutely. Far be it from me to incur the wrath of an Italian mom in her own kitchen," he said and leaned in, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

'Brown noser,' Jason mouthed at Tommy and then laughed.

She blushed slightly. "Thank you, Tommy." Swatting at her son, she looked at both teens. "Go get a snack, boys, and then we need to talk."

"Uh oh, that doesn't sound good," the Gold Ranger said and moved over to the counter to grab something to stuff into his mouth. Once they'd both gotten a snack, they came back over to where Mrs. Scott was preparing to pop another dish into the oven.

After setting the pan of three-cheese mac n'cheese into the oven, Theresa turned and looked at the two boys. "I saw someone at the mall the other day when I was picking up a few last minute presents."

"Oh? Who was that?" Jason mumbled, still chewing.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Kimberly. And before I knew it, I had invited her to the party."

Tommy's eyes flew open wide, as did Jason's. "Mom! Why did you do that? You know that's gonna be real awkward," Jason replied.

"I realized that after she was walking away. We got to talking and she asked if I was going to have the party like I do every year and told her 'yes'. It just came out automatically." She put a hand on a shoulder of each of the boys. "I am sorry, but I figured that you should know before she shows up--that's if she does. She might not knowing how things turned out with your group at the hospital." A soft laugh escaped her at the look on the teens' faces. "I might be an adult, but I'm not blind. Especially not when I see someone that's been a part of your group of friends suddenly on the outside after so many years."

Jason sighed and shot a look at Tommy. The Ranger Commander looked kind of apprehensive about it, but they both knew there was nothing to be done but deal with it now. "Alright. Well, maybe she won't show up."

"Oh, she'll show up--you know she will. We'll just have to avoid being left alone with her."

"I am sorry, boys." She reached into her apron and pulled out two wrapped packages. "You two go open these and get ready for the party. I can finish up in here."

"Thanks, Mom," Tommy said and took the gift box from her hand. Jason took the other one.

"We'll be in my room if you need us, okay?"

"All right." Leaning over, she gave both boys a kiss on the cheek. "Go on now, scoot."

Climbing the stairs to Jason's bedroom, Tommy looked over at his boyfriend. "Whatcha think these are?" he asked, giving the box a shake.

"Don't know. There's no telling knowing her," he answered.

Once they got into the bedroom, they sat on the edge of the bed and tore into the paper.

"Oh man...this is nice," Tommy said, holding up a leather cord with a sterling silver pendant at the end of it.

Opening his own box, Jason pulled out an identical pendant. "Wow... these are great." He pulled the silver kanji closer. "I've seen this before, but don't remember what it means."

"Oh hey, there's a little card inside my box," Tommy said, pulling it out and opening it. "It means 'Family', according to this. Awww, how sweet. Your mom's the best," he said with a warm smile.

Nodding, Jason grinned. "I'll put yours on you if you do the same for me."

"Sure, I can do that," Tom replied. Since the two necklaces were identical, he took the one he already had in his hands and carefully put it around Jason's neck. After placing a kiss on his lover's lips, Tommy leaned back and admired the silver pendant. "Very nice--looks good."

Leaning forward, Jason put the one he held around the other teen's neck, then carefully pulled the long, soft braid free of the cord. He nipped lightly at the base of his boyfriend's throat where the pendant rested, then moved up and returned the kiss. After a couple of moments, he leaned back and nodded. "It really does." Winking at Tommy, he grinned. "Guess I get my good taste in jewellery from her."

Tom returned the grin. "Guess so. Speaking of which, did she ask you anything specific about your ring yet?"

"Yeah, yesterday. I didn't tell her about the engraving in it. Just told her that you knew I had been exploring some of my heritage and that you'd caught me looking at some rings like it while we were shopping."

"Probably a good idea. They know I was going to do an engraving in Gaelic, but I didn't tell them what it was going to say." Tommy suddenly had a thought. "Can your mom read Gaelic?"

"No, but my dad can." He rested his head on his lover's shoulder. "I don't plan on leaving this laying around where it can be found. Only time I'd really have to take it off is when I get a shower or we're sparring."

"Okay, just be careful. Don't want to tip our hand just yet," Tom responded. "So how much time do we have before the gang starts arriving? We need to get dressed."

He looked over at the clock. "About an hour." Jason sighed, then grinned. "Maybe you should wear something other than red. Like that dark green button up with your black pants."

"Why? You planning on wearing red, Santa?" Tommy grinned.

"I was thinking about it." The former Red Ranger chuckled softly. "After all, I do have a new Santa hat to show off." He leaned down and kissed him. "Besides, green looks really good with your eyes."

"Planning on showing off your new boxers too? Okay, I'll wear green for old time's sake."

"You are the only person that gets to see me in those boxers." Getting up, Jason sighed softly. "You want to take a shower or wait until after the party?"

"Let's wait--I had a shower this morning. Wanna make out while we've got a few minutes?" he asked, a bright smile on his face.

Tilting his head to the side, Jason pretended to think about it. "Hmm, make out with you or get a shower now." Chuckling softly, he moved closer and leaned in, nuzzling the newly adorned neck. "Think I'd pick making out with you any day."

Chuckling, Tommy grasped the back of his boyfriend's head. "Better make sure the door is locked, hot stuff," he said with a leer.

"Yeah, yeah." With a last nip at an earlobe, Jason released his lover to go and check the door. After doing that, he started towards the bed, removing his shirt as he did. "Now, where were we?"

Pulling off his own shirt, Tommy lay back on the bed and propped himself up on an elbow. With his free hand, he ran his fingers down his chest, following his 'happy trail' to the button on his jeans. "Right about...here," he said in a sultry voice, biting his lip afterwards.

Kneeling on the bed, Jason crept upwards then leaned in, forcing his boyfriend back against the pillows. "True, but do we have time for a snack like that before the party?" He closed his lips over the other teen's, kissing him softly for a moment before deepening it.

Once the kiss had ended, Tommy whispered in Jason's ear. "No, we don't have time right now, but later...you're mine," he said, running his big hands up and down his boyfriend's warm skin.

"Looking forward to it." He leaned in again and began gently nipping at his Falcon's neck, laving each area as he moved down. He moved over to one of the dusky nipples and flicked it with his tongue before blowing on it. Jason moved a hand up to continue playing with it as he kissed his way back up to those warm, wet lips.

After several more deep, wet, warm kisses, the boys decided that they'd better start getting dressed.

_'Even though I don't necessarily want to see Kim, if I have to come face to face with her I want to look my best. Make her see what she gave up sorta thing,'_ Tommy thought.

As Jason started buttoning up a deep red dress shirt, he looked over at his boyfriend. "You gonna be okay seeing her?"

"Seeing her won't be the problem. Her cornering me and wanting to know why I'm 'suddenly gay' is where the problem will be," Tommy said, combing his goatee.

"How about if me and the guys try to not let that happen? Or if we see it happening, to come over to you." He finished buttoning his shirt and tucked it into his black pants. He made sure that the pendant sat in the hollow of his throat before walking up behind Tommy.

"Yeah, that would probably help. You planning on speaking to her? From what you've said, your last conversation didn't go very well."

The burly teen shook his head. "I'll be civil to her if she speaks to me first, but I'm not going to initiate any conversations with her. Actually, I'm pretty sure that Adam and Rocky will react the same way."

Tommy turned, looking into Jason's face. "You know, they never mention her to me. I guess they don't want to bring up anything that would piss me off, but...are they resentful towards her like you are?"

"It's not something that we really talk about, but I do know that Adam was really ticked with her for how she broke things off with you. Although, that might have to do with him having actually read the letter to you. And Rocky, he's got a big heart and hates to see people get hurt." He slipped his arms around Tommy's waist. "And she hurt you, Tom. That's not something any of them took lightly."

He nodded. "Well, that's good to know--that all of you guys are on my side, I mean." He rolled his eyes. "Her and Kat together should be a real treat," he said sarcastically.

"Hey, don't do that baby." Bringing a hand up, Jason gently stroked his cheek. "If/and/or when they show up, we'll handle it. I get the feeling that if they come, neither will stay very long. So instead of concentrating on them, think about being able to see David again." He leaned in and kissed him softly. "Okay?"

The Ranger Commander sighed and nodded. "You're right. I shouldn't invent problems where none exist. And it will be good to see David again," Tommy smiled.

"Exactly. Maybe we'll go out there one weekend and visit with him again. Let you talk some more with Sam."

"I'd like that," Tom said, tucking his deep green shirt into his jeans. "I guess we'd better get downstairs, huh? Do I look okay?"

"Considering I just want to strip you here and now, yeah, I'd say you look great." Jason stated, reaching out to adjust the pendant. "Least we can honestly say that mom gave us the pendants as an early Christmas present." He sighed. "Guess we'd better get going before I decide to act on my impulses."

Chuckling, Tommy placed a light kiss on Jason's full lips. "Come on, Tiger...you can stalk me later." With that, they both went downstairs to help Mrs. Scott finish up with any last minute preparations.

()()()()()()()()()

Jason walked toward the front door when he heard the bell. "I got it!" he yelled and opened the door, finding Zack on the doorstep.

He grinned at the former Black Ranger. "Hey man, glad you could make." He stepped back to let the other teen in.

"Wouldn't miss it, bro! I'm only gonna be here for another couple of weeks--gotta see you guys as much as possible!" he responded, shaking hands with his old friend. "So, is everybody coming?"

"In that case, I'm glad you're here first—and no, I'm afraid Tanya's not gonna be able to make it—had family stuff out of town that she couldn't get out of. She promised to make it to the New Year's Eve party at Adam's place though."

He relaxed a bit as they made their way over to Tommy, who was trying to appear casual as he checked out the spread. "Hey bro, guess who's here."

"Zack! Hey Man! Merry Christmas!" Tommy said brightly, giving his friend a hug.

"Merry Christmas to you guys too! Wow, this food looks good! When do we eat?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

Theresa came out of the kitchen with a plate of brownies and put them on the table. "When more people get here." She grinned at him. "Merry Christmas, Zachary."

"Mrs. Scott, Merry Christmas to you too! Everything sure smells good...as usual."

"Thank you." She looked over the trio, then sighed. "One brownie, boys." Walking up to her son, she fingered the pendant. "Do you like it?"

"Oh yeah, absolutely! You have very good taste," he answered with a grin.

"I agree! Thank you so much, Mom," Tommy added with a big smile.

She pulled Tommy into a hug. "You're welcome. As close as you and Jason are, I figured giving you one that said 'family' as well was only appropriate."

"You're so sweet," Tom said, lowering his eyes a little. "You guys are like family to me."

Theresa put a hand under his chin and raised it so that she could look into his eyes again. "Thomas, I'm only telling you the truth. Just like you know that you can go to Jason for anything, you can also come to me."

"I know...and thanks. I mean it," he responded, blushing slightly.

Zack stood back and watched with a smile. He only knew a little about Tommy's home life, but he knew enough to decide that this was a good thing.

Just then, the doorbell rang again. "I'll get it," Jason said quietly and headed for the door.

She hugged Tommy again, then kissed his cheek. "Go on, have fun." She went back into the kitchen to finish the last of the trays.

Outside on the porch, Carlos and Adam balanced wrapped gifts in their arms with the sodas they had brought to help out.

Opening the door, Jason reached out and grabbed a couple of the gifts before they could fall. "Hey guys." He grinned. "Come on in."

"Thanks. That one almost bit the dust and that would be a tragedy," Adam said with a smile, stepping through the doorway.

"No kiddin'! I spent a long time on those!" Carlos added. "Hey Jason! Thanks for inviting me!"

"Breakable, huh?" He shook his head. "It wasn't a problem, Carlos. You're a friend and that's what this party is for." He almost said something in regards to at least the ones he and Tommy had invited being friends, but bit it back.

"Yeah, they're breakable. I think you're gonna like 'em, though!" Carlos said with a grin, indicating the two flat, wrapped packages.

"Something we can open now? Or should we wait a bit?" He looked towards the kitchen where his mom was still working.

"Umm well...they're for you and Tommy, but I think we might oughta wait until the parents aren't around," the dark haired artist whispered.

Jason raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Thanks Carlos." He looked at Adam. "There's a cooler over by the table that you can put the sodas in. Think that's one of the few things Mom hasn't started doing yet."

"Alright. Where's Tommy, by the way?" Adam asked.

"Mom was talking to him a minute ago by the food table."

Tommy had actually crept up behind the green Zeo ranger, signalling for Carlos and Jason to be quiet. "Right behind you, Mr. Park," Tom said in a menacing voice, nearly making his friend jump out of his skin.

"Ahh! Damn it, Tom!" Adam squealed.

Chuckling softly, Jason watched as Zack made his approach as well. "Miss me, Adam?"

"Zack! Hey man! Glad you could make it before you take off for Switzerland," Adam said, giving his predecessor a hug.

Hearing the bell again, Jason took up his duty. "Wonder who it is this time...any bets?"

He returned the hug. "Well, I've only got a couple of weeks. So I figured I'd spend all the time I could with you guys."

Tommy shook his head. "I'm hoping it's Rocky. Or even David. Anyone but them."

"Them who?" Zack asked innocently.

Jason reached a hand up and ran it through his hair. "Kim and Kat. Mom saw Kim at the mall and sorta invited her."

"Hmmm...that should be awkward," Adam responded, glancing over at his boyfriend.

Carlos had a questioning look on his face. "Tommy's ex-girlfriend," the Green Zeo ranger whispered.

When the doorbell rang again, Jason looked at the others. "You guys want to go on towards the food table and I'll get the door? That way I can at least give you guys a warning."

"Think you'll be alright seeing her?" Adam asked Tommy. He was pretty concerned about his friend--he knew what a good shock to his system could do.

"Yeah, I think so. As long as I don't get cornered by her," the Ranger Commander answered.

Zack shook his head. "Maybe they'll both have the good sense to not show up."

Tommy turned and gave Zack a look. "When have you ever known Kim to turn down a chance to be the center of attention?"

He shrugged and grinned. "Okay, man. You've definitely got me there, but we'll all help out in making sure she doesn't corner you." He looked over at Adam. "Right?"

"Right. Don't worry about it, Tommy," Adam responded. He wasn't about to let them get to him--not if he could help it.

Tommy sighed. "Thanks guys, that means a lot to me."

Standing on the porch, Rocky and Anna shared a quick kiss. "Alright Jase, open the door," the blue Zeo ranger said, staring at the closed door.

"Give him time, Rocky. He might be helping get some things ready." Anna stated, standing a bit closer to him.

Finally opening the door, Jason had gotten himself set just in case the two people he had been dreading were on the other side. "Oh...it's you, Rocky. Hey guys! Come on in," he said, visibly relieved.

Rocky frowned at him. "Who were you expecting? Because I got to tell you, it looks like you're really relieved we weren't someone else."

Jason shook his head slightly. "Don't ask, dude. I'm sure you'll hear all about it. Anna, good to see you again! Merry Christmas!" he said sweetly, giving Rocky's girlfriend a big, warm hug.

She grinned. "Merry Christmas to you too, Jason." She stepped in after Rocky and looked around. "Wow, who did the decorating?"

"My mom...she's a Christmas freak just like me. She's pretty good at it, though," he said, admiring her work.

"I see nothing wrong with being a Christmas freak." Looking around again, she raised an eyebrow. "So where is everyone else?"

"Follow your nose. You'll find the boys and the food at the same time," Jason laughed.

Rocky grinned. "Speaking of food." He held out the dish he was carrying. "The tamales my mom said she'd make. Think there's enough for everyone."

Jason's eyes lit up. "Ahh...Mama DeSantos' homemade tamales!! That's what I'm talkin' about!"

Anna giggled and went on in to find the others. Tommy was passing by the hallway when he saw Rocky and Jason standing in the doorway talking. He decided to walk over and say "Hello".

"Rocky! Glad you made it!" he said, giving him a one-armed hug.

The blue Zeo ranger returned the hug. "Hey man, wouldn't miss it." He grinned. "Even brought some of mom's tamales for the festivities."

"Ooooh, nice! Those are always welcome!" he said with a smile. "So how's it going with Anna? You two seem happy."

"It's going pretty good." He watched as she made her way further in, looking around as she walked, then dropped his voice to a whisper. "Sometimes wonder if we should ever tell her, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Maybe after the fact we can tell some of the people that we've been wanting to tell for years. Don't wanna endanger anybody, though," Tommy answered. Just as he was finishing his thought, he saw a familiar car pull up. _'Oh goody...look who's here,'_ he thought, not wanting to pull Rocky into the middle of things. "Anyway, go on in--Jase and I will join you in a minute." He shot a look over at his boyfriend.

Jason had also seen the car and nodded. "Yeah, make sure mom gets the tamales so that she can find a place to put them. Don't want to miss out on those."

Rocky nodded. "All right. See you guys in a few minutes." He went into the kitchen and gave the dish to Mrs. Scott before joining the others at the food table.

Tommy took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He looked over at Jason, locking eyes with him. The look spoke volumes.

Jason closed the gap between them and pulled Tommy into his arms. "Just relax, babe." He spoke with his mouth close to his boyfriend's ear. "Getting uptight right now isn't going to help things. Nothing says that after you say hello you have to talk to her again."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get this over with," he said, watching the car doors open.

Stepping back, Jason straightened his shirt and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Just remember that we're all here for you, bro."

As Kim and Kat exited the car, they talked and laughed excitedly. Kim was particularly nervous as they got closer to the door. Lifting her eyes, she saw Tommy and Jason standing in the door, but she immediately focused on her ex-boyfriend. Standing there in a deep green shirt and blue jeans, his hair, which had grown considerably since she saw him last, hung loose around his shoulders--he looked amazing. She approached slowly and looked up into his familiar chocolate brown eyes. "Umm...hi there."

Tommy swallowed hard and then forced a smile. "Hi. Jason's mom said that she had invited you. Come in," Tommy said, standing aside to let her pass.

Jason had let his gaze rest on the gymnast for only a few moments before nodding at the pink Zeo ranger. "Kat." He stepped aside as well, letting her into the house.

Once the girls were in the house, Jason and Tommy turned and started to close the door when they heard a truck pull up. "David!" Tommy said, his face suddenly lighting up. "I didn't know if he was gonna make it or not."

Chuckling softly, his boyfriend shook his head. "I told you that he said he was going to be here. When has he not done what he said he was going to without giving us a call?"

"I know. I guess I just wanted so badly for him to be here that I got a little worried. Being with David will help things go better--I know it will."

"I'm glad he's here and that you can spend some time with him." He turned and grinned at David as he came up the walk with Alicia. "Merry Christmas, David, Alicia. I'm glad you two could make it."

Tommy gave David a broad, warm smile. "Hey bro...good to see you," he said and wrapped his arms around his brother's shoulders, holding on for an extended hug.

David held his brother close, running a hand up and down his back for a few moments. "Good to see you too, little brother." He sighed and leaned back a bit. "So what's got you so tense?"

His big eyes met his brother's. "Kim's here--she just walked into the house."

Sighing softly, David drew his brother close once again. "You don't have to talk to her, Falcon. Or if you decide you want to, you know that Jason and I will be right there for you."

Alicia looked at Jason and then rubbed Tommy's arm. "It'll be okay, Tommy."

Walking over to the small group, Jason put his hand on Tommy's other arm. "David's right, Tom. We're all here for you. The choice is yours with what you want to do."

Adam nudged Rocky and nodded towards Kat and Kim, but didn't say anything.

Rocky looked in their direction, but made no move toward going over to talk to them. The girls were being occupied by Mrs. Scott, so the boys stayed in the background. Adam looked around to see what had become of Jason and Tommy--they hadn't come back after letting the girls in.

"I'll be okay guys--I'm not that fragile. It's just gonna be kinda awkward with her around, that's all," Tommy said. "Let's go back inside."

David snorted. "I know you're not fragile, but you're my little brother and I care about you." He stepped back, letting the younger man go. "You're right though, let's go inside."

Smiling, all four of them re-entered the house, heading into the kitchen. As soon as Tommy saw Mama Scott, he smiled and pulled David forward. "Mom, look who's here!"

Theresa turned, grinning at her other 'son'. She chuckled softly. "I think he's a little excited. Glad you could make it, David!" She held her hand out to him.

"Thank you for inviting me," David said, taking Mrs. Scott's hand. He leaned in a little closer. "And thank you for everything that you and your family has done for my little brother."

She gave him a soft smile. "I wish that we could do more, but at times you know that your brother can be a little stubborn."

"A _little_ stubborn? You have a gift for understatement, my dear lady," David said with a smile. That earned him a punch on the arm from said little brother.

Jason tried to hide a laugh by turning it into a cough, but when Alicia started giggling as well, he stopped trying and just shook his head.

Shaking her head at them all, Theresa sighed. "All right, enough you bunch of hooligans. Go on and catch up with your friends."

"Come on guys, let's get outta Mom's kitchen before she bodily throws us out!" Jason suggested and led the way towards the living room. He knew the two who were "persona non gratis" would be in there, but it couldn't be avoided all night.

David followed them out with Alicia. "So have you two been behaving yourselves?"

Tommy turned and flashed him a guilty smile. "Relatively."

He raised an eyebrow, then grabbed the teen by the neck in a playful manner and pulled him close. "Better be glad no one goes up there often, huh?"

"Up where? What are you talking about?" Tommy asked with a grin. Jason turned back with an equally innocent face. "Yeah...up where?"

He reached out and ruffled Jason's hair. "So let me see, Falcon. Considering I helped design it."

Tommy lifted his hand. "I assume you mean this," he said, showing his new ring to his brother. He reached over and grabbed Jason's hand, saying, "And this is the one I got him."

Alicia giggled and leaned in, looking at the rings. "So does this mean you're engaged?" she asked in a low voice.

David examined each of the rings and nodded. "They look good on you two." He looked at Tommy. "Be careful, please?" He then turned and looking at his girlfriend, chuckled softly at Alicia's question. "Well, you gonna answer the lady?"

"No, nothing like that. Not yet, anyway," Jason whispered and winked at her.

Tommy wondered what David seemed so concerned about. Was he worried about him being caught by the Olivers or was it just the relationship he was concerned about. He decided he'd have to ask him later.

Nodding, David looked at them both and lowered his voice. "They might not be engagement rings, but you could definitely use them as promise rings, if you chose to."

"That's an excellent idea," Tommy said, looking at Jason. "We'll have to talk about that."

Afterwards, they finally made it the rest of the way into the living room where most of the guests had congregated. "Hey guys, look who's here!" Tommy announced, putting his arm around his brother's shoulders.

David rolled his eyes. "Okay, who let him at the sweets before the rest of us got here?"

Jason chuckled and looked at the elder brother. "I think it's cute that he's so excited to see you. Nobody else has that effect on him, ya know."

"No, I didn't know that." He reached over and drew his brother closer. "I'm glad you're happy to see me, Falcon." He looked around and noticed several of the guys grinning, while the two young ladies off by themselves seemed to actually be frowning slightly. Deciding to ignore them, David greeted the rest. "Merry Christmas everybody."

"Merry Christmas" came from just about everyone in the room as the guys walked over to talk to the new arrivals. Kim stood looking at this man that she'd never met, thinking how incredible the similarity was to her ex-boyfriend. "Wow...he's nice-looking, don't you think?" she asked Kat.

Kat sighed softly. "Yes he is, but that's Tommy's brother, David Trueheart."

"Oh, I know that--it's blatantly obvious who he is. But he sure is handsome--like Tommy with a few more years on him. But ya know what? As much as it pains me to say, Tommy looks really good too. I thought you said he was still skinny and a bit sickly from the accident. I don't know where you get that!" Kim said, unable to take her eyes from the two brothers.

"I've told you before, Kim. Jason, Adam, even Rocky and the others are really protective of him now. They don't let him overdo things and he's only recently started to really get back into sparring with Jason. He's doing good, but not like he was before the accident."

"He'll get there--Tommy's a strong person. So the other guys like to play mother hen, huh? I'll bet he hates that."

"Sometimes, but they've gotten really good at doing it in such a way that he just goes along with it." Kat sighed. "I've been on the outside of things a bit lately, so I can see it happening."

As Kim studied him, she began to look concerned. "So he's still weak after the accident, huh? He hasn't had any more seizures, has he?"

"No, but there's always the chance. At least that's what Jason has told everyone." She snorted. "Although, that could just be a ploy of his to keep Tommy under his thumb."

"Jase wouldn't do that--I know him that well. He does seem to hover though, doesn't he?"

"Hmmph. If you believe Jason, then getting Tommy too upset could trigger another seizure." The blonde shrugged. "Not sure how much of that I believe though." She looked over at her friend. "Besides, you're never going to be able to have your little talk with Tommy if you keep standing here. And you're not going to be able to get a truthful answer from him with Jason by his side."

"Well, I'm not gonna make a move to try to talk to him until after dinner. Maybe he'll relax around me some by then. I do need to try to at least be civil though. Wanna go with me to try and make some conversation?" Kim asked.

Kat was quiet for a moment. "You might have a better shot at it alone, Kim, but if you want me to, I'll go with you."

Kim thought about all the tension that was apparently present between her friend and the rest of the team--particularly Jason and Tommy. She decided to go it alone. "Well...let me see what I can do by myself. Be back in a few minutes," she said. Swallowing hard and trying to work up some courage, she started across the room toward the man that she used to adore.

Jason spotted Kim as she broke off from talking to Kat and started walking towards them. He stepped closer to Tommy, who was talking with Alicia, David and Adam. "Kim's heading this way."

Tommy glanced up but then went right back to his conversation. _'She is not gonna get to me--I refuse to give her the satisfaction,'_ he thought. Out of the corner of his eye though, he watched her approach.

Taking a deep breath, Kim let it out slowly as she reached the small group. "Hey Tommy, Merry Christmas."

Turning his eyes on her, he tried to be pleasant. "Merry Christmas, Kim. I don't think you've met my brother. David, this is Kim. Kim, David," he said by way of introductions. "And this is his girlfriend, Alicia."

David extended his hand to the petite brunette, smiling down at her. "Nice to meet you," he said.

Alicia spoke up. "Yeah, we met at the Youth Center a couple of days ago. Nice to see you again."

Kim returned the smile to Alicia and then shook David's hand. _'Damn, just had to have a girlfriend, didn't you?_' "It's nice to meet you as well."

The one member of the group who was conspicuously quiet was Jason. _'I refuse to speak to her first--she'll have to make the first move,'_ he thought.

Tommy wasn't making it easy on her either. He didn't go out of his way to make conversation--he let her lead.

Kim turned to Jason. "And Merry Christmas to you too, Jason. I'll have to thank your mom again for inviting me."

"Yeah, you know Mom--she's nice like that," he said and left it at that.

"So Kim...what have you been up to since you got back to exciting old Angel Grove?" Alicia asked, seeing that the men weren't in a hurry to talk.

She shrugged. "Not much. I did some Christmas shopping and I've been just hanging around. It's nice to have the break from training, but I go back right after New Year's."

Adam watched quietly, then slipped off to go over to the others. He grinned as Carlos watched Zack do some sort of weird spin on his feet. "Don't let him give you any kind of dating advice, Carlos."

"Hey now, who's been running their mouths about me?" Zack asked with a grin.

Snorting, the green Zeo ranger put a hand on Carlos' shoulder. "Who hasn't? Jason's told us all about your attempts at wooing Angela. Tommy did as well."

"Yeah well...can't win 'em all, right," he said, giving them one of his patented Zack grins. "I'm doin' alright with the European hotties."

Rocky almost choked on the soda he was drinking. "That's not what Trini told us. She said that you'd been shot down over there more in a month than you had back here in a year."

"Trini's got a big mouth and I'll tell her so as soon as I see her," Zack said, taking a drink of his soda. "Man, is dinner almost ready? It sure does smell good," he observed, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, know what you mean. Just looking at all this food is making me hungrier," Rocky offered.

Adam laughed softly. "Glad you two don't always hang out together." He looked at both Rocky and Zack. "The rest of us would never get any food otherwise."

"Are they working you hard down there in Florida?" Tom asked.

"Just like always. At least Coach Schmidt isn't into morning weigh-ins like some of the coaches," Kim said, rolling her eyes.

Jason stayed right up against his boyfriend's body--Tommy's shoulder in Jason's chest sort of arrangement. He did this to lend support without having to say anything, but with the contact, he could also judge how tense his partner was.

"That's good. He's pretty tough, from what I remember. My memory's worse than it used to be though," Tommy said with an odd look on his face.

"Oh, I don't think it could have gotten much worse from what it used to be." She grinned, reaching out a hand and laying it on his arm. "Besides, isn't that what having friends is for? Helping you to remember stuff you've forgotten."

Tommy tensed immediately with the touch. "Yeah...I guess so. Jason's good about helping me out in that regard," he said, turning his head and locking eyes with his boyfriend.

Nodding, Jason used the hand that was hidden by his boyfriend's back to gently rub the toned body in small circles. "Yeah, I'll help him remember what he needs to."

_'And I'm assuming that doesn't include anything about her,'_ David thought, a small grin appearing on his face.

"Well, I'm glad that you and Jason are still close like that. I'd have thought him running off to Geneva like he did would have changed that a bit." She squeezed his arm. "So, any ideas about where you're going to go to college?"

Alicia looked up into her boyfriend's face and noticed the slightly devilish look there. _'Oh boy...I'm gonna have to ask him about that.'_

"Actually, it brought us closer because we missed each other so much," he said, understanding her connotation. "As for college, Jason and I are looking at two or three different schools--upstate."

"I'd have thought you'd both want to stay close to home so you could avoid having to live in the dorms." Kim grinned. "And keep on getting that good home-cooking."

"Oh no, we're looking forward to having our own place, aren't we?" Tommy asked Jason with a look that was full of meaning.

"Oh yeah...and as for the food...I can cook," Jason added.

David grinned. "Well, I'm sure with a mom like yours, she's made you learn how to cook some things." He reached out and pinched Jason's cheek, like an aunt would. "Can't have her little boy going hungry." He let the teen go, laughing softly.

They all burst out laughing. "Hey, that little boy is quite the chef. Plus, Mom keeps us stocked up with food--can't see that changing! She'll probably be up in our apartment every weekend, insisting that she needs to cook and clean," Tommy laughed, looking to his lover to see if he agreed.

"Please, let's not give her any ideas. I can see twice a month already at the least."

"Oh yeah, no doubt. But would it really be that bad? Think about it?" Tommy said with a smile.

"True. At least she'd bring things either pre-made that we can just throw in the oven or buy the stuff and cook it at our place," he grinned, looking at his boyfriend. He was so tempted to just lean forward and kiss him, but he held back.

"Tommy, you really should learn to cook at least a few things. Between me and Jason, surely we can teach you how to get around a kitchen," David said, shooting a grin over at his brother's boyfriend.

"He's getting better with scrambled eggs and he can do grilled cheese," Jason stated, playing with a few strands of hair behind his lover's back. He grinned and then added, "But he's great at doing laundry."

Tommy blushed slightly, shaking his head. "Alright, stop talking about me like I ain't here," he said, smiling and looking into Jason's face. He wanted so badly to steal a kiss, but now was definitely not the time.

David reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ah, we just pick on you because we love you. Even with a Swiss cheese memory." He winked then put an arm around Alicia's waist.

Kim watched them all. She used to be a part of this. The inner circle that could make jokes with and about each other and it not be taken the wrong way. Now, like Kat, she found herself on the fringes and it was not something that she enjoyed. "Well, I think either way getting a place of your own would be kind of expensive. I mean, how are you going to work and go to school at the same time?"

"College funds will do us until we can find part time jobs. If we have to, we can live in the dorms for a semester or two, but we really don't want to do that--no privacy," Jason answered.

She laughed softly. "Can just see you two working at some place like McDonald's or a pizza place."

Tommy grinned. "We were thinking more like a dojo or gym, but...whatever it takes. We're just anxious to get our post-high school lives started...together," Tommy said, leaving no doubt as to what he meant.

She snorted softly and took a drink of her soda. _'Kat's right. I'm gonna have to get Tommy alone if I really want to talk to him. With Jason right there, I'm sure that Tommy's only saying what Jason wants to hear.'_

"Alright everyone! Dinner's ready! Come on in the dining room," Mama Scott announced and quickly got out of the way before she was trampled by the boys.

Adam rolled his eyes as Rocky and Zack almost crashed into each other.

Tommy and Jason laughed and headed toward the wonderful smells coming from the next room. "David, I hope you're hungry! This is going to be epic," his brother informed him.

"I had a late breakfast and skipped lunch, so yeah, I'm definitely hungry." He followed his brother and Jason. "Glad I can try Mama Scott's lasagne and Mrs. DeSantos' tamales at the same time."

As everyone made it into the dining room, Mrs. Scott had an announcement to make. "Each place setting has a name on it, so please find your name and take your seat." The teens milled around until everyone was seated in their assigned places. A second table had been brought into the dining room to accommodate everyone and Mom did at least have the good grace to seat Kim and Kat at one table and Jason and Tommy at the other. After grace was said, the feast began with Mr. Scott leading the way.

David groaned as he chewed on a bite of lasagne. He'd been seated next to Tommy with Jason on the other side of his brother. "Mmmm, really good." He looked towards Mrs. Scott. "This is excellent. Sam tries every once in a while, but it's nothing like this."

"I'm glad you like it, David. It's a recipe that my grandmother brought over from the old country," Mrs. Scott responded.

"Doesn't get more authentic than that," Jason added.

He nodded. "Kind of like some of the fry bread we make back home. There's just something about making it yourself and eating it."

Carlos looked over at Rocky. "Hey Rocky, do you know what your mom uses in her tamales? I know it's a type of masa, but it's got a different flavour."

Grinning, he looked at Carlos. "It's nothing special. She just adds a bit of cayenne pepper to the mix. It gives it a slightly spicier taste, but without a lot of extra heat. The rest of it is pretty much the same."

Several minutes later, Adam brought up the subject of their absent teammate. "Too bad Tanya is missing this. She really wanted to come."

"Jason said that she had to go out of town, is that right?" asked Mrs. Scott.

"Yes ma'am. She has family in Silver Hills and they planned a get-together for today as well."

"Well, Christmas _is_ a time for family. I'm sure she'll be at the next party," Mr. Scott offered.

Jason spoke up. "She promised to make it to the New Year's party that Adam is throwing."

"Everyone enjoying everything?" Theresa Scott asked, looking at all of the young faces around her.

"Oh yes ma'am.""It's wonderful." "Absolutely delicious," came the answers.

"It's amazing as usual, Mama Scott," Kim answered, smiling over at the lady she'd known since kindergarten.

"Well thank you all—I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves," Jason's mom answered, being sure to smile over at the four teenagers seated at the smaller table.

Along with Kim and Kat, Rocky and Anna had been placed there. The original plan was to have Adam and Zack sit with the girls, but Jason had stealthily changed the place cards around. "Mama" didn't know about the bad blood between Adam and the girls and she was also unaware of his relationship with Carlos, so a little shuffling was in order.

Once everyone had eaten their fill of dinner and dessert, the kids pitched in and helped Mr. and Mrs. Scott put the food away and clear the table. Refusing to let the teens help wash up, she shooed them out of the kitchen. "It'll wait—you younguns just go and have fun," she'd told them. A half hour later, Jason's parents excused themselves upstairs to leave the lower floor to the kids.

()()()()()()()()()

Adam nudged Carlos from his place beside him on the couch. When the young man turned and looked at him, the green Zeo ranger, with his eyes, indicated the wrapped gifts that they had brought in and were now resting under the Christmas tree. Nodding, Carlos got the attention of the recipients. "Ummm, Tommy...Jason...would you like to see what's in those packages now?" he asked with a knowing grin.

Jason chuckled softly. "Think that's kind of a silly question." He reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of his boyfriend's face. "Considering he keeps eyeing them."

Tommy grinned. "So I'm curious...I can't help it. Can we open them now?"

"Yeah, I think now would be a good time. Take a seat on the couch and I'll bring them to you," Carlos answered, getting up from his seat and pulling Adam with him. "Sit in our places," he said. At the moment, every available chair, ottoman, and place on the couches was filled.

Nodding, Jason went over to the couch with Tommy and took the seats that the pair vacated.

Adam picked up one of the gifts as Carlos got the other. Bringing them back over to the couch, they handed them to the boys. "I hope you like them," Carlos said.

"I'm sure we will, but you didn't have to do this," Tommy responded, holding the wrapped present on his lap.

Jason carefully started opening his package. Something told him that it might be a bad idea to just dig in and rip the paper off. As he pulled back the wrapping, he was glad that he was going slowly. Turning the frame over, he smiled at the group shot that was taken during their camping trip. As he fingered the edge, he realized that picture was just kind of resting there. Pulling it up, his mouth dropped open at the image that rested beneath it. "Oh wow! This is amazing Carlos." The drawing was beautifully done and showed off his lover almost better than the actual picture did.

As Tommy was working on the wrapping paper on his own gift, he heard Jason's response and had to look over. "Oh my gosh...that's me!" he said with a surprised look on his face. He went back to carefully removing the paper and found the same group photo that Jason had. Upon lifting it though, he beheld the drawing of Jason that Adam's boyfriend had worked so hard on. "Carlos...this is...awesome!" he exclaimed when he finally found his voice.

Adam slipped an arm around Carlos' waist. "Told you that they'd like 'em."

"Definitely like," Jason stated. Just looking at the drawing of his lover in the ratty jeans, sitting bare-chested on the Harley... hair hanging loose around his shoulders was a turn on and he knew that the group photo was a good thing to have on the front. Otherwise, their parents would be learning more than either teen wanted them to. He looked over at Carlos. "Thank you, Carlos. This is a really well-done drawing."

Carlos nodded appreciatively.

"Sure is. I knew you were talented, but...wow...this looks just like the picture!" Tommy remarked, still studying the framed sketch in his hands.

Most of the group knew about the pictures, if not the drawings themselves. Kim, however, was out of the loop. She craned her neck trying to see the images in the frames, but was unsuccessful. "Can we see?" she asked.

Leaning over, the Gold Ranger looked at the picture his best friend held. "Damn, it really does."

Tommy looked over at Jason and shrugged. _'Why not? Show her what she lost when she dumped me like a bad habit,' _he thought. "Sure, come over here," he offered.

Nodding, Jason looked over at her. "Yeah, don't want to drop the frames and it'll be easier to hold the other photo up that way."

Getting up from her place next to Kat, Kim made her way over to the couch where they were sitting. She leaned in between Tommy and David, turning her back on her ex's brother and purposefully leaning into Tommy as she looked at the photo. "So he gave you drawings done of each other?"

"Yeah, I'm assuming that's what he meant to do. Right, Carlos?" he asked, looking up at the dark-haired artist.

"Uh huh, I wanted you guys to have sketches of each other," he answered.

'_Hmmm, Jason looks okay I guess. It's almost like he's trying to be a biker with the leather pants.'_ She put a hand on Tommy's arm as if to steady herself and leaned over a bit, looking at the picture that Jason had turned towards her. _'Damn Tommy looks good like that. Wish he would have let me see what little those jeans are hiding. Maybe then I wouldn't have been so quick to give him up for someone else.' _She nodded. "Nice Tommy." Grinning, she looked down at him. "Can see you're definitely looking well."

"He's lookin' damn good, if you ask me," Jason responded, placing a large hand on Tommy's thigh.

He had seen how close Kim was getting to his boyfriend and how she insisted on touching him. He felt it was time to reclaim his territory.

David rolled his eyes and tapped her on the shoulder. "I know that it's a bit crowded, but think you could sit up a bit? I'd like to not have your butt in my face."

Kim jumped. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." She adjusted her position. "So these drawings were done from pictures?"

Adam grinned. "Yeah, Jason forgot to take them out of the pictures he had developed from the Halloween Party. Brought the whole stack to school and Carlos spotted those amongst the lot of them."

"Yeah. Oh, that reminds me," Carlos started but broke off. He went over to his coat that was hanging in the hallway and retrieved something from the pocket. Coming back in, he said, "Here ya go--the original pictures," he said, handing them to Jason. "I still want you guys to pose for me--I've got lots of ideas."

Chuckling softly, Jason took the pictures from him. "I bet you do. Let us talk it over some and we'll get back to you."

Tommy reached over and relieved Jason of the photos. "Here ya go--the originals," he said, handing them to Kim.

She took them and stood up. The picture of Jason was instantly put to the back as she stared at the one of Tommy. "Definitely looking up in the build department, Tommy." She grinned at him. "Might even rival Jason there one day."

Turning, she looked over at Kat and raised an eyebrow. "Thought you said he was still all weak and sickly?"

All eyes turned on the current Pink Ranger. No one wanted to be the first to say anything, especially since Jason and Tommy were right there.

The Ranger Commander shook his head. "Do you really think I'm still sickly? Seriously?" He gave her an inquisitive look--he wanted an answer.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde sighed. "Honestly? Yes, I do. If you're not, then why does everyone seem to care so much about you getting really upset or pushing too hard? I mean, if you're really better, then that kind of stuff shouldn't be an issue."

Tommy's body tensed up and the look on his face reflected that. "It's an issue because after that awful head injury that I got, I'm prone to seizures. Seizures cause brain damage. How hard is that to understand?"

Jason's hand automatically went to his lover's back and started rubbing it lightly, but he didn't say anything. He did, however, begin to glare daggers at Kat.

"See, that stuff right there. Jason's always hovering around you. Adam does the same thing along with Rocky. It's almost like they expect you to keel over at any moment."

"We care about him, Kat. You did too at one time, if I remember correctly," Rocky said, having been quiet up until now.

"Pay her no mind, Tommy. Don't worry about what she thinks," Adam added.

Kat snorted. "I cared about him until I realized what side he was really rooting for in the dating game. And that he'd lied about some things in the process."

Tommy's hand, which had been sitting casually on Jason's leg, suddenly clenched. "So because you now know for a fact that I'm not interested in you in that way you no longer care about me as a person, is that right? That's pretty shallow, Katherine--even for you."

Even Kim, who was looking at Kat along with most everyone else, thought that her comments had been uncalled for. _'She seems so bitter. Maybe I shouldn't take everything she says as true--definitely some issues there.'_

Kat blushed. "I didn't say that I no longer cared about you as a person." She started to say something else, but stopped when she realized that there wasn't much she could say at the moment to dig herself out of the hole she was in.

Shaking his head, Jason looked at her, then turned to the others. "How about some games or something gang?"

Tommy turned his gaze from her, shaking his head once again. "Okay, whatever," he mumbled and tried to turn everyone's attention to something else. "You guys wanna watch a movie...or play a game?" he asked, prompting Jason to go along with him.

Zack grinned, which had some of the originals groaning. "Let's play Twister!"

"Yeah! That'd be great!" Rocky exclaimed, looking to Anna and Alicia who were next to him.

David groaned, then looked over at his little brother. "This is your fault."

"What?! It'll be fun! And you're gonna play!" Tommy said, standing and grabbing his brother's arm after handing the sketch in his hands to his boyfriend.

Rolling his eyes, he let his little brother pull him to his feet. "If I fall on someone, it's your fault." He gently pushed Tommy, grinning.

Chuckling softly, Jason flipped the cover photos back down on both pictures before setting them on the table. Then he got to his feet to join the others.

()()()()()()()()()

Tommy got up from his seat beside Jason and headed out of the room. Once he'd come out of the bathroom, he walked into the kitchen to freshen up his drink. Just as he was pouring himself more soda, Kim came into the room with a look in her eye. "Hey, need something to drink?" he asked, trying to be civil.

"Sure." She held out her glass, but was biting her bottom lip. After he was done pouring, she sighed. "Tommy? Can we talk?"

_'God, I knew this was coming. Why did she have to show up here?'_ "Depends. What did you want to talk about?"

"I think you know what I want to talk about." She took a drink of her soda then set it down. "I'm sorry about the letter."

Tommy snorted. "Sorry? Yeah well...what else can you say, right? Okay, you're sorry," he said in a low voice. He didn't want anyone else to overhear this.

Kim sighed. "I'm not sorry that I broke up with you. I just shouldn't have done it in a letter. You deserved better than that."

He just looked at her for a minute. What he wanted to say was something like 'Yeah and I deserved better than to be told that you thought of me as a brother too', but what he ended up saying was, "Yeah Kim...I did. You could have at least called. But no worries...we're both happy now, right?" With that, he tried to walk away from her, not wanting to get into this any deeper.

She stepped in front of him and laid a hand on his arm. "Tommy, is this..." She paused for a moment, not really knowing how to say what she wanted to, then decided that there was no easy way to say it. "Is this my fault? Did I make you turn to guys?"

A laugh burst forth from Tommy before he could stop it. He looked down at her with the most incredulous look on his face. "You've got to be kidding me. You really think..." he trailed off, worried that the others might overhear. "I don't want to talk about this," he said and tried yet again to get past her and back into the living room.

Again, she stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Why not? I want to know, Tommy, because I've known Jason for alotta years and never knew that he was gay. And I dated you, kissed you, and we had some pretty heavy make out sessions. Were those fake? Were you just playing with me?"

He just stared at her. _'I guess this was inevitable--oh well, can't avoid it any longer.'_ He sighed deeply and then made a suggestion. "Look, if we've gotta talk about this, and it seems we do, can we at least go somewhere more private? I don't want everyone to overhear this."

"I doubt there's anyone in the garage, we can talk there." She nodded her head at the door behind him that led into the attached 2-car garage.

"Fine. After you," he said and let her walk out before him. _'Maybe I can get this over with fast and not have to deal with it anymore,'_ he thought. Once they'd walked into the garage and shut the door, Tommy turned and faced her. "Let's get this over with."

"So? Were you playing with me? Was what we had so bad that you turned to guys? Or did I crush your self-confidence with women so bad that you thought men were your only option?" She threw her arms up. "And Jason? You had to go after someone I grew up with?"

Tommy held his hands up in a defensive manner. "Whoa whoa...slow down. First off, I wasn't playing with you. I really did love you, Kim. And no, what we had wasn't bad--I thought it was great. I'm not the one who broke up with you for someone else, was I? No."

"And I did love you, Tommy. In a way, I always will, but I've found someone else. I'm just sorry that I broke up with you through a letter." She paused for a moment then sighed. "If you weren't playing with me, then how come you're suddenly gay?"

"I'm not gay, alright? And neither is Jase. We're bi. And what you said before, about me going after someone you grew up with... I didn't 'go after' Jase. He was the one who told me how he felt before I said anything to him. And why does it matter if it's someone you grew up with? Why should that matter to me?"

"Because I feel like you've been lying to me the whole time we were together! The same thing with Jason." She folded her arms across her chest. "Why now? Why did you two suddenly get together?"

"Because I nearly _died_, Kim! I know you couldn't be bothered to hang around, but are you aware of how close I came to actually dying?!" He was raising his voice now and didn't really care. "That's why now. Both of us have had feelings for the other for a long time now. We just decided that we'd waited long enough."

"So what? You were settling for me? Is that what you're saying? That because you didn't think you had a chance with Jason, you chose me?" She shook her head. "Really know how to make a girl feel wanted. And yes, I do know how close you came to dying. I'm sorry I didn't stick around, but Jason made it pretty clear that I wasn't welcome. Kat was keeping me informed." Tommy had to roll his eyes at that. She was quiet for a moment and then continued, but now she had a nasty look on her face. "If it had been Adam that approached you instead of Jason, would you still have considered it? Or is it just Jason that seems to make you want to drop your pants and bend over?"

The Ranger Commander couldn't believe his ears. Was this really sweet little Kim who was getting all up in his face and saying that? He decided that it didn't matter. She had no right. "You little bitch...how dare you talk to me that way after what you did?!" he growled. "I'm trying to give you an honest explanation of how Jase and I got together and that's what you come up with?!" He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. "Just so you know, no, I wasn't _settling_ for you--I told you that I loved you and I did. I only started admitting to myself that I was having these feelings for guys about six months ago. Yes, we were still together then, but I didn't really understand what I was feeling." He stopped for a minute before continuing. "Look, I love Jason--deeply and truly--and I will not have you make something dirty out of it! Can't you tell how happy we are together?"

For a moment she was quiet. If she was honest, she _had_ seen how happy they seemed together, but a part of her was also still trying to come to terms with the fact that her ex-boyfriend was in love with another guy. Kim wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. "Are you telling me it's not dirty? I mean, when you two start having sex, if you do, you're going to give it to each other up the ass, Tommy. Are you saying that's not dirty? And it's not like you can go walking down the street holding hands with him."

Back in the house, Jason was beginning to wonder what had become of his boyfriend. "Have you seen Tommy come back through?" he asked Rocky who was seated closer to the doorway into the kitchen.

"No, haven't seen him since he went to the bathroom," the blue Zeo ranger replied.

_'I hope he's not sick,' _the Gold Ranger thought as he got up to go investigate. Walking through the kitchen and not seeing him, he went toward the downstairs bathroom. Passing the door that led into the garage, he happened to glimpse them out of the corner of his eye. "What the fuck is going on out there?" he mumbled when he saw Tommy and Kim having an apparently heated discussion. Question was, should he go out there or should he stay out of it? He knew his temper would get the best of him if he tried to talk things out with Kim, but he wasn't about to let her lay into Tommy. He stood there at the door trying to decide what to do.

The Ranger Commander shook his head slowly and chuckled. "What a mouth you've got on you now . . . your new boyfriend teach you that? And what do you know about all male sex? Are you some kind of authority on the subject?" he asked, hands on hips. "It isn't dirty, okay?" He paused for a moment. He wasn't sure if he wanted to let her know everything or not--it really wasn't her business. "We realize that this relationship will have its challenges. No, we can't show affection to each other in public--in most places. But that's just a small inconvenience. We have plenty of time in private for that."

She caught his hesitation when talking about the sex and frowned. "Have you had sex with him? Huh? You haven't even been going out that long and you're already going to give yourself to him like that?" She took a step forward. "Have you? Have you let Jason take you like that? Or did he let his ego go long enough for you to screw _him_?"

Having opened the door just a bit so that he could hear what was being said, Jason suddenly saw red. _'How dare she even ask him that?! That's none of her damn business!'_ He couldn't stand it any longer, he had to get into this one. Coming through the door suddenly, he walked straight over to the bickering twosome. "Hang on just a damn minute! What makes you think our sex lives are any of your business?!" he said angrily, purposely looming over her.

She took an involuntary step back. Having grown up with Jason, she'd seen him lose his temper a couple of times. Kim could feel her face turning red and that made her mad. "I was just curious how long it was going to take him to give it up to you. Or if you had turned into such a pansy that you let him claim your ass first." She swallowed hard just after the words left her mouth.

"My goodness Kim—what a little pottymouth you've turned into," he said, mocking her. "You know what? I knew this was going to happen as soon as Mom told me that she'd invited you. I knew it was a mistake." He looked at Tommy who appeared to be just as pissed as he himself was. Turning back on her suddenly, he let her have it. "Well if you must know, we spent this entire past weekend screwing each other's brains out. Happy now?! Want us to prove it to you? Want to see us kiss? How 'bout watching us make out?" He punctuated that by wrapping his arm around Tommy's waist and pulling him into his side. "Does this disgust you, Kim?"

Kim could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She knew it had been a mistake to come here, but she had hoped to try and get the truth out of Tommy. Well, it looked like she had it, but how dare Jason talk to her like that. She stepped forward quickly and slapped Jason hard in the face. "How dare you talk to me like that?! What would your parents say, huh? Bet they don't know that you're seeing a guy. Or that you like taking it up the ass. Maybe I should just go tell Mama Scott what her 'little boy' really did this weekend."

Tommy's eyes widened even as Jason started to lunge toward her. The ranger commander quickly grabbed him, restraining him from doing something that would just cause more trouble.

"Don't you fuckin' dare!" Jason growled, sticking his finger in her face.

"Kim...you better not. This is none of your business!" Tommy said in a stern, barely controlled voice.

"Why? Thought you weren't ashamed of what you were doing? If you're not ashamed, then telling them shouldn't matter."

"We're not ashamed, but if our parents found out right now they could make our lives hell. Especially Tommy's parents," Jason said angrily. "And if our lives turn into a living hell because of you, then I guarantee that yours will be that way too!"

Kat had followed Jason, but kept out of sight until he went into the garage. Her hand flew to her mouth when she realized that it was Kim that was talking to Tommy and Jason. When she heard Jason threaten Kim, she stepped into the garage and walked over to the trio. "Back off Jason! She's right. Your parents have the right know."

Kim stepped closer to the other Pink Ranger. "And what could you do to make my life hell, huh Jason? You're not as big and bad as you think you are."

"Might know _you'd_ show up!" Jason said to Kat, ignoring the petite brunette. "Our parents have the right to know when _we_ decide to tell them. It's not your place to tell them anything!"

"That's right--we'll tell them when we get ready. It's none of your business--either one of you!" Tommy added.

Kat shook her head. "Neither one of you plan on telling them and you know it. And why is it you doing all the talking again, Jason? Tommy doesn't know his own mind on the subject? I'd say it's obvious who's the dom and who's the submissive," she said, giving them both a disapproving look.

"I am perfectly capable of speaking for myself, thank you. We both plan on telling our parents sometime in the future, but at the moment, if I want to have a place to live, I can't let them find out, okay? My home life is shit, in case you two 'ladies' didn't know. I'm just treading water until I can graduate and get the hell outta there. If they found out now..." He paused for a moment. "It would be bad."

"What are you talking about Tommy? Every time I was over there with you, your parents seemed fine, especially compared to mine before the divorce."

"They put up a good front, Kim. You have no idea what it's really like," Tommy answered.

Jason wrapped his arm around his lover's waist again in support. "Tom, it's none of their business. You don't have to tell them anything," he said in a gentle, soft voice.

Kat frowned. "What's so bad about your parents, Tommy? They worried about you when you were in the hospital and they've tried to help you since you came home. So what's so bad about them?"

He snorted. "Well, let's see--my mom is verbally and mentally abusive--not to mention a controlling bitch. My dad is a mean drunk who has put me in the hospital and used to beat me when I was smaller. Why do you think I've been seeing a counsellor for so many weeks now? And did you really think that all the scars on my body are from ranger battles?! They're not."

Jason could tell that Tommy was getting worked up and starting to shake slightly. He was pissed that these two would come into his house and start something like this at his Christmas party. "Tommy...calm down, okay? Don't let it get to you." He pulled him closer to try and comfort his lover, but he could tell that the trembling was getting worse.

Kat rolled her eyes. "Poor, pitiful Tommy. Always has to have someone looking after him. If you're parents are so bad, why don't you go live with your stupid brother on the reservation?"

Kim put a hand on Kat's shoulder. "Come on, let's go." She wasn't sure what to make of what Tommy had said, but even she could tell that he was getting upset.

"We're leaving. Tell your mom thanks, Jason." Turning around, she started walking with Kim towards the house.

Tommy's shaking was still getting worse and it was scaring Jason. "Come on bro, you need to sit down." With that he led Tommy over to his Mustang and made him sit on the hood. Stepping in between his legs, he held his boyfriend's chin in his hand and looked him in the eyes--he seemed okay, but the Gold Ranger was still worried. "See what you've caused? You just had to keep pushing, didn't you?!" Jason growled at the two pink rangers. "Now get out!"

Kim couldn't believe what she was hearing, but one look into those chocolate brown eyes told her that he was telling the truth. She had never had any idea that he had to live with abuse like that--he never told her or even let on. "Tommy...I...I didn't know. I'm sorry."

Jason ignored her and watched Tommy closely to make sure he wasn't getting any worse. "You feel okay, bro?"

Raising a trembling hand to push his hair back, Tommy managed to say, "Yeah, I think I'm alright. Just got too wound up there for a minute."

"They're leaving--just try to breathe and calm down, okay? That was close."

"I know but...I'm okay now...I think," he said, taking a shaky breath.

They gazed into each other's eyes for a minute, each making sure the other was really alright.

Kim let Kat go ahead of her, pausing on the top step. She turned around to watch the pair and realized she didn't have the right to say anything to anyone about them. The way Tommy was looking at Jason made her heart ache because it reminded her of the way he used to look at her: with nothing but love.

As Kim watched, she saw Jason gently take Tommy's face in his hands and place a kiss on the lips. For a few moments, they stayed that way until she could see that it was being deepened by both participants. She could feel her face flushing as both of their hands started to stroke along toned backs and she could only imagine what their tongues were doing. Amazingly, she wasn't disgusted by what she saw. If she had to admit it, she was a little turned on by it. Shaking her head, she finally turned around and exited the garage back into the house.

As the girls came through the door back into the house, they were stopped by David and Adam--neither had a very pleasant look on their face. They had been watching through the door—Adam having to hold Tommy's older brother back at one point. David pushed past them and went out into the garage to make sure his brother was okay. He had seen how upset he had gotten during the argument. Adam, on the other hand, glared at the girls and wasn't afraid to put in his two cents on the matter.

Kat raised an eyebrow at her teammate. "Did you have something you wanted to say Adam?"

"You're damn straight there's something I want to say." He looked into Kim's face. "What was that about, huh?! Why did you have to come in here and start something at the Christmas party?" He turned to Kat, pointing a finger at her face. "And you know better than to get Tommy that upset! Are you trying to give him another seizure?!"

Kat blushed. "I didn't realize he would get that upset over it. Besides, it wasn't until his parents were brought up that things started getting bad." She was almost flippant with her words.

Kim sighed. "I'm sorry, Adam. I didn't mean to get him that upset."

Jason heard someone approaching and pulled Tommy close as he looked over his shoulder, relaxing when he saw it was David. "Hey David."

David walked up and put a hand on his brother' shoulder. "You okay, man? I saw that you were getting pretty upset there for a few minutes."

"Yeah, I think I'm okay. My stomach's just in knots," Tommy replied.

Jason kept running a hand up and down his boyfriend's back. "Think something to drink might help? Maybe some Sprite or something? Don't want you getting sick on us." He kept close to his lover having hated the way the girls had spoken to him.

"Yeah, a drink would be nice," Tommy said to his boyfriend. "Maybe that would help."

"I'll go and get it. Be right back," David told his little brother and started back into the house.

When he entered the kitchen, he heard Adam giving Kat and Kim the business. "Kat, you know better than to upset him like that. He's your commander--don't you think you should show him some respect?"

"He's not my commander here--only when we're out in the field. Out there, I'll listen to what he has to say, but nothing says I have to respect him."

"I don't know why he doesn't just throw you off the team. If I was in his place, I would," Adam responded to Kat.

"As if you could find someone to replace me." She shook her head. "I'm leaving."

As David left, Jason pulled Tom closer to him. "Are you really feeling okay? No one will say anything if you want to go upstairs and lay down." He placed a soft kiss on his partner's temple.

"I think I'm okay for now--the drink will probably help. If I start feeling worse, I'll let you know," Tommy replied.

Kim sighed. She hadn't said anything during Kat and Adam's little tiff. She almost agreed with him about replacing her, but where would they find someone else to take the pink powers. She suppressed a grin. Billy wouldn't look that good in a skirt. Shaking her head, she looked at him. "I'm leaving as well. Take care, Adam." She started walking off.

There was nothing more for Adam to say. He did, however, plan to talk to Tom about replacing Kat—in his official capacity as second-in-command. She had outstayed her welcome and it was time for her to go...for the good of the team. When he caught sight of David, he asked, "How's Tommy?"

"He's okay, I think. I'm just getting him something to drink to help his stomach," David replied.

Resting his head against his lover's, Jason sighed softly. "When David comes back, we'll stay out here a few more minutes, then go back into the party. Feel up to maybe playing a couple of games or do you want to just sit on the couch for a bit?"

"I think I'll just sit on the couch and watch the others play--not quite up to games." He paused and shifted a bit. "I'll tell you one thing though, this hood is really hard on a sore ass!"

Jason started laughing and stood up, then pulled Tommy up and held him close. "Yeah, why do you think I didn't want to sit on the kitchen chairs the other day?" He grinned down at him, then grew slightly serious. "Do you regret what we did?"

Tommy pulled back and gave his partner a questioning look. "Huh? No, why? Do you?"

"No, I don't. I just wanted to make sure you didn't after everything they said." He leaned in and gently nuzzled a spot he knew sent shivers through the Red Ranger. "I never regret loving you or anything we've done."

"Me either, Jase. I have no regrets where you're concerned, you should know that," Tommy answered.

From the kitchen, Adam followed David back out into the garage to see about his friends. Once the door was closed behind him, he headed straight over to them. "Tommy...are you okay?" he asked, seeing that his commander looked a bit pale.

Tommy looked up from Jason's shoulder to see his friend looking at him with concern. "Adam. Yeah, I think I'm okay. Just a little shaky."

Jason kept an arm around his lover's waist. "Wanted to give us both a chance to cool down a bit before we went back in there."

Nodding, David handed the drink to his little brother. "Here, this might help a bit, but if you're still feeling off afterwards maybe you should rest for a bit when we go back inside."

Taking a long drink from the glass, he looked up at David. "Yeah, I will." He paused and then said, "Are they still here?"

Adam shook his head, blushing. "No, they left," he said, and then let out a low growl.

Jason got the feeling that Adam was holding something back. "Froggy, got something else to say?"

Tommy looked into Adam's face, waiting to hear what was on his green ranger's mind.

He squirmed for a couple of moments then sighed. "Okay, so maybe I let them have it when they came out of the garage."

David chuckled softly. "That's putting it politely."

"Did you now?" the Red Ranger asked with a bit of a grin. "What did you say?"

"Kind of told Kat that she knew better than to get you upset like that and if I was in your shoes, I'd find a replacement for her." He blushed again. "Of course, that was after I asked her if she didn't have any more respect for you than that and she said that she didn't have to respect you, only listen to you and that was only in the field."

"That bitch," Jason said with a snarl.

"I wish I could replace her. If I can find someone to take her place, I will. But I don't wanna think about that right now," Tommy said, leaning against Jason again.

Adam nodded. "Pretty much. She even snapped at me that we'd never find anyone that could take her place."

"Hmphf...wanna bet?" Jason responded.

"Yeah, right now you just need to try and relax." David stated, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You feeling any better?"

"A little. I'm not as shaky as I was a few minutes ago. Does everyone inside know what was going on out here?"

"I don't think so. They might have realized what happened after the two of them left, but no one inside is gonna think bad about you for it, Tommy." The green Zeo ranger stated, looking at his commander. "The tension might have even eased up after they left."

"Well, I guess we should have expected something like this when we found out they were coming. I shouldn't've let them get to me like that--I swore I wouldn't, but I did," Tommy responded.

Jason rubbed his back. "You also didn't expect to get cornered and talked to like you did. Nor was half the crap that Kim said to you expected."

Tommy sighed. His head hurt and he just didn't want to think about this stuff anymore. "Let's go inside, huh? I want to rest on the couch for a little while. Then maybe I'll feel like doing something."

Jason turned to his boyfriend, frowning. "You sure you're feeling okay?" The fact that he'd starting trembling like he had still had him worried about the former white ranger.

Adam nudged David then nodded towards the door. Once back in the kitchen, he looked at the older man. "Think we should run interference with the others before they get back in here?"

"Might be a good idea," David said and the two of them started toward the living room to do just that.

"I think so," Tommy said, looking up into his boyfriend's eyes. "I just have a headache now."

"How about you take a couple Tylenol when we get back inside? It should help keep it from getting worse if not make it go away all together." He leaned in and kissed Tommy softly. "And if it doesn't help at all, I want you to tell me, okay?"

"Okay, I'll try that. Let's go in," he said, attempting to get himself off the hood of the Mustang.

Chuckling softly, Jason helped him off the car. "Guess this means me claiming you like that again tonight might not happen?" He held onto his boyfriend's hand as they walked towards the kitchen.

"I'll have to let you know about that," Tommy answered with a slight grin. "I have a headache, remember?" he said, actually managing a laugh.

"Oh, ha ha. Don't think you're always gonna be able to get away with that one." He grinned at him as they walked back into the house. It wasn't hard to see that Adam and David had talked to the others since the music had been turned down a little. Walking over to the cabinet, Jason took down the bottle of Tylenol and shook out two. Handing them to his lover, he grinned. "Let's try to fix that headache of yours."

Tommy swallowed the pills down and then nodded to his boyfriend. "Let's go back in and try to enjoy the party with our real friends, okay?" He leaned over and kissed the other man's cheek and grasped his hand.

Nodding, Jason grinned at him then walked with him back to the living room. "So what are we playing?"

Rocky looked up and quickly checked over the two of them. "Ummm, we were thinking about starting a game of Pictionary. Wanna play?" He looked concerned.

"I think I'll just watch for a little while, if you guys don't mind," Tommy said, slowly lowering himself onto the couch. "My head's hurting a bit." Looking around, he noticed concerned looks from everyone there. "I'll be okay, guys."

"I'll play." Jason stated, trying to distract them. "But I'm not on Zack's team. He cheats."

David chuckled softly and joined his brother on the couch. "I'm gonna sit it out, too."

"Good. It'll give us time to talk a little," Tommy said, showing his brother a weak smile.

Nodding, he looked at his younger brother. "Definitely, like we can talk about when you're going to come back out and visit us again. Maybe take a ride on Eaglefoot."

Adam grinned at Jason. "You can be on my team along with Billy and Rocky."

"How about next week after Christmas? I still have another week's vacation from school," Tommy suggested.

"That'll work." He grinned. "Bring Jason up and we'll introduce him to the joys of horseback riding in the mountains."

"Great. Could we stay over for a couple of days? Think Sam would mind?" the Ranger Commander asked. "Not trying to invite myself or anything, but Jason likes you and Sam and would like to get to know you better. I would too."

"Tommy, you're my little brother. I want nothing more than to get to know you better and those that you care about. Having you stay for a few days, weeks or even months would be fine with me."

He smiled, blushing a little. "Thanks, man. Once I get out of the Olivers' house and on my own, it'll be much easier for me to come hang out with you and Sam. Please never think that I don't want to, it's just..." he started, but broke off, shaking his head in frustration.

"Listen to me, Falcon." David gently turned his brother's face so that he could look into the chocolate eyes. "You never have to apologize to me for stuff that is beyond your control. I know what it's like to be faced with prejudice." He got up and went over to the coat closet, then removed something from his coat pocket before re-joining his brother on the couch. "I made you this--figured you could use it."

Tommy looked questioningly at his older brother and then took the object wrapped in white tissue paper from his hand. Carefully, he pulled back the paper to find a new, handmade dream catcher. "You made this?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I did. Figured you needed something that could stand a bit more wear and tear than what Sam gave you. This should be able to do that."

"Yeah, it looks a lot more sturdy. I was afraid that Mom would tear up the other one. I'm gonna hang this one over my bed whether she likes it or not," Tommy said, turning it over in his hand to examine all the details.

"I knew that she didn't like the fact that you were trying to learn more about and honour your heritage. That's why I made this one." He put an arm around his brother's shoulders. "If you need anything else from me, let me know."

"I will. Pretty soon it won't matter what she thinks--just five more months and I'll be somewhat free of her."

"You know that if you ever need a place to stay or even just get away from her for a while, that you're welcome at my place. Jason can come as well."

"I know...and when we come out next week we can plan for the next time. Maybe for just a weekend or even Spring Break," Tommy suggested.

"Just let us know." He was quiet for a few moments. "Try not to let what Kim and Kat might have said get to you, Tom."

Suddenly frowning, the ranger commander shook his head. "I should've expected something like that when I found out they were coming. Honestly, the way I reacted bothers me more than what was said."

"Why does it bother you? Talk to me, Tommy. We might not be that close yet, but I'm here for you."

He gave him a weak smile. "I just shouldn't let what they think get to me that bad. I mean, I was shaking like I was gonna have another seizure...just from getting into an argument with two stupid bitches," he said, shaking his head. "I can't go through life avoiding situations just so I won't have any more seizures. Something's gotta be done."

"Probably need to give yourself some more time, Tom. Your body went through a really bad ordeal. Just because most of it's healed, doesn't mean that everything is back to normal yet."

Tommy thought about that for a moment or two. "Yeah, I suppose you're right--I hope so, anyway. I don't wanna spend the rest of my life worrying about when the next one is gonna hit. So anyway, let's change the subject. How's the herd coming along?"

Chuckling softly, David let the subject be changed. "Eaglefoot's got himself three new ladies and our first foals should start being born around the end of January/ first of February."

The younger of the brothers grinned broadly. "That's my boy!! I knew he was a ladies' man!"

"Yeah well, we'll see how good of a ladies' man he is when this first crop of foals is born" he grinned. "He's got a big legacy to follow."

"Oh, he'll be fine. I can't wait to see him again...and his foals."

"I'm kind of looking forward to seeing them myself. We need some more mares to add to the main herd." The elder Oliver grinned. "It's why all the families contributing to the herd have their own stallions. Keeps the gene pools broad."

"How many do you have now? Seems like the herd was pretty big last time I was there."

"Sam and I have 20 mares in the bunch with the 3 new ones, plus we've got Eaglefoot and then three geldings that we use as well." He took a drink of the soda he had. "The entire herd is about 100 strong."

"Wow...that's alotta horses. I don't know how you take care of them all. I can't even have a dog," Tommy said with a grin.

()()()()()()()()()

Jason tossed a few more empty cups into the trash bag he had, then looked over when he heard his boyfriend make a sound of disgust. "What'd ya find?"

"Oh nothing...just a paper plate of lasagna that looks like it's either been sat on or stepped on...your mother would have a fit."

"Especially if she ended up putting her hand in it or worse, sat on it." He shook his head. "Least you didn't find the plate with Rocky's mix of Cheetos, enchilada sauce and . . ." he frowned, trying to figure out what else was on the plate. "…and I have no clue what else."

"That boy has a cast iron stomach. So anyway, you really want to go out to the res with me after Christmas?" Tommy asked, continuing to pick up cups, plates, forks, used napkins, etc.

"He's got something for a stomach. Personally I think it's a bottomless pit." Pausing, he looked over at his friend. "Yes, I really want to go with you out to the res. It'd be nice to get to know David and Sam a little better, you know?"

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I need to get to know them better myself," Tommy answered.

"True, and I think you'd feel better if you learned more about your heritage." He grinned. "I know it's helped me a bit learning about some of mine."

"I believe I would too, it's just so hard for me to do that while I'm living with that prejudiced bi--...grrrr," he growled, throwing more junk into the trash bag.

Setting his own bag down, Jason walked over to his boyfriend and put his arms around him. "Hey, don't get all worked up over her. You've already had one scare tonight. We both have and I'd really like to avoid another one."

"I'm sorry...you're right, of course. I shouldn't let her get to me like that. Just like I shouldn't've let Kim and Kat get to me earlier," he said, shaking his head.

"Yeah well, with those two it was a bit unexpected. You didn't expect Kim to corner you like that and then for Kat to jump in as well." He let his chin come to rest on Tommy's shoulder, pulling him back in against his chest.

"That's true. But I knew there was gonna be trouble as soon as I saw them drive up, I just didn't think they'd get to me like that. Some of the things they said..." Tommy said and then sighed heavily, leaning more against his partner.

"Come on, let's put the trash in the kitchen and go to my room. We can talk some more there, okay?" He placed a gentle kiss behind his lover's ear.

"Yeah, alright," he replied, sounding a bit dejected. He dragged the bag he'd been filling into the kitchen and put it beside the trash can. "You sure Mama won't get mad for us leaving it like this? She's been so kind to me I don't wanna piss her off."

"She told me earlier that I didn't have to worry about it. We cleaned up most of it plus Adam and Rocky put all the food away." He set his own bag beside the trash can then reached his hand out to Tommy. "Come on, let's go upstairs and we can stretch out on the bed, then talk a bit."

Tom looked up at Jason through his lashes and gave a little smile. "Okay, that sounds good babe. I need to relax," he said, taking Jason's hand.

Giving the hand in his a little squeeze, the Gold Ranger led his best friend up to his room. Once there, he stripped Tommy down to his boxers before undressing himself. Softly, he captured the warm lips in a gentle kiss, before looking into the warm chocolate eyes. "I love you."

The ranger commander smiled warmly at him. "I love you too, Rex. Don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, you're not gonna be finding out any time soon." He led the other teen over to the bed and laid down, pulling Tommy with him. Wrapping his arms around him, Jason sighed softly. "So what did Kim say that sent you over the edge so quickly? I missed part of what she said because of the blood pounding in my ears."

"She was asking questions that were none of her business. Wanted to know if we'd slept together yet because that was 'just nasty' or something like that."

Sighing softly, Jason pulled Tommy in closer to him. "She's confused Tom. Kim wasn't around me during the Conference, so she has no idea what I went through over there. Or how much I worried that you wouldn't feel the same way. When you made that comment in the hospital, my heart shattered. Kim doesn't know about any of that, but I know that's not the only thing that upset you."

"It's just the things she said...like wanting to know if I'd bent over for you or if you'd let your ego go long enough to let me bend you over--stuff that is none of her business...and she was so crass about it...not like Kim at all."

The other teen sighed. "I'm sorry she cornered you like that, babe. And you're right, it's none of her business. I think she was just shocked to find out you were really over her and had moved on…" he grinned, "…with someone much better looking."

Laying his head back and laughing out loud, Tommy reached up and stroked Jason's hair. "Damn...I needed that," he chuckled. "And you're right, of course...much better looking...and built so much better," he cooed, stroking his other hand down Jason's muscled chest.

"And she's majorly jealous because I get all of you." The Original Red Ranger let his hands trail over his friend's body, coming to rest on the firm butt cheeks and pulling them closer. "Something that she will never, ever know." Leaning in, he covered Tommy's mouth with his own.

When they came up for air, Tommy rested his forehead against Jason's. "Nope, she'll never have me, I'm all yours...for as long as you want me."

"That's good because I can't think of a time when I'd want to let you go." He grinned. "So now that this party is behind us, what all are we gonna do until it's time to visit David?"

"Well, you know the city is putting on the Christmas lights in the park-thingy and on Christmas Eve they're gonna have a live nativity. Wanna go to that? You're such a nut about the holidays I figure you'd like that sorta thing," Tommy smiled, placing a small kiss on the end of Jason's nose.

The midnight eyes widened. "I forgot all about that." He leaned in and kissed Tommy happily. "Definitely something we should do. Maybe we can stop by and visit some of the gang as well." The Gold Ranger was quiet for a few moments. "You know, we're not going to eat until around 6 on Christmas. Want to join us?"

"Turn down a Christmas dinner from Mama Scott? Never," he grinned. "I'd love to come and ya know, we're gonna have our dinner about 1 so conceivably, we could do both. Whatcha think?"

"Works for me." A soft chuckle came from the broad chest. "You know we're gonna have to work out for hours to burn off everything we're gonna eat over the next few days."

"Oh, I know. Especially you," the ranger commander said, giving his boyfriend a playful push.

"Me? You tryin' to say I'm fat?" He raised an eyebrow, fighting back a grin.

"No no...just that you eat a lot more than I do. Guess it takes more fuel for that engine of yours."

"True," a wicked grin spread over his face. "But you gotta admit that you love the body that goes with the engine." He shifted so that he was looking down into his boyfriend's eyes. "Just like I'm really fond of your body."

"Oh yeah, no denying that. And you might be even more fond of my body when I finally get built back up--you know I'm still ten pounds down from what I was before the accident? I don't like being this skinny," he frowned.

"Tom, you're not skinny. A little underweight, yeah, but you've regained almost fifteen pounds. That's a huge deal. And I'm sure all the stress you've been under hasn't helped you regain the weight like you need. We'll work on it. Just means no more skipping meals and maybe you try to work a few snacks in during the day."

"I've been trying to do that, but you know how it is...stuff comes up. But you're right, the stress isn't helping. It's better than it was, but still...the situation isn't good."

"So we start keeping snacks in our backpacks and at the Command Center." He refused to call it the Power Chamber. "That way you have something in case you need it."

"Alright, sounds like a good idea. And thank you for coming over for Christmas dinner. I know you don't like my parents--I don't either--but it keeps me from having to be alone with them. Five more months..." he sighed.

Turning back on his side, Jason pulled Tommy close. "I know and in five months you will never have to have anything else to do with them, bro. Until then, whenever you need to, you're welcome to stay here."

"I know and I was thinking about that very thing on the way over here. It might be okay for a night or two, but not for long term. I couldn't impose like that."

"Well, for right now, just try to relax and get some rest, especially after what happened earlier."

"I don't know if I'm gonna be able to put it out of my mind quite that easily, Jase. They both said some pretty hurtful things...and then I had to tell them about my folks. I knew they wouldn't believe me--most people who know the Olivers won't. So glad you, David, and Dr. James do at least."

"That's because they haven't heard all of the things that have happened, Tom, so they're going by what they've seen and experienced themselves. Makes it hard for them to take as fact what you're telling them." He placed a soft kiss on his partner's lips. "But I believe you because I've heard what they've done and know that being around your parents stresses you out."

Tommy nodded. After a minute or so of silence, he looked over at Jason. "What's my chances of getting some of that wonderful tea that your mom makes to calm me down?" he grinned.

"I think I can manage that." He got up and pulled on a pair of sleep pants. "You want to go down with me?"

"Oh yeah, I'm not letting you out of my sight," he smiled warmly, getting up from the bed. "You know, you told me not too long ago that you were gonna take care of me. I hope I don't need too much looking after," he smiled.

Jason let the other teen put on a pair of pants himself, then wrapped his arms around him. "Even if you were bedridden, I would be there to look after you. It took me too long to get you and now that I have you, I'm not planning on letting you go." He grinned at him. "Besides, I know that if I was the one that needed to be taken care of, you'd be right there doing it."

Tom nodded. "You can count on that."

()()()()()

_Author's Notes: Hey guys! I was really anxious to post this after FINALLY getting it finished—if you find any errors, please let me know! I pride myself on spelling, punctuation, and grammar and I wouldn't want to have my story up with typos._

_Please don't forget to review!! It would be nice to hear from some of you!! Thank you for your patience! Also, be sure to check out prophet144's work as well as our collaborations under the pen name A Warrior's Prophet. There are currently two—"Misery Loves Company" and "Ranger Retreat"—both of which will be updated very soon!_


	35. Looking Back, Looking Forward

**In His Eyes**

**Disclaimers****:** See Chapter 1.

**Author's Notes****:** Be sure to read the notes at the end of this chapter.

**Chapter 35****—**Looking Back, Looking Forward

The Saturday after Christmas, the boys got up early to head out to the res to spend a few days with David and Sam. To make a change, Tommy picked up Jason this time and they started the hour-long drive out of town. "Think you can handle a horse, Rex?" Tommy asked.

"I was a Boy Scout, you know. Means I went to camp a couple of times. We rode horses there." He grinned. "Granted, it's been a while, but I'm pretty sure that I remember the basics."

"We'll find you a nice, gentle, half-dead one, okay? Not sure you can handle anything too spirited," Tom kidded.

"Keep it up and I won't help warm your tee-pee tonight."

"Oh no you didn't just make a racial joke...I must be hearing things!"

Chuckling softly, he looked over at his lover. "Well, if the loincloth fits."

Tommy playfully growled at his boyfriend while fiddling with the stereo. "Find another CD, will ya?" he requested, pointing to the disc wallet in the floor by Jason's feet.

With a wink at the other teen, the Gold Ranger reached down and picked up the CDs. "What are you in the mood for?"

"I don't care as long as it's not slow and sleepy. I didn't sleep well last night and I'm not quite awake yet."

Jason picked one of the rock CDs out and slipped it into the player. Only then did he look over at his boyfriend. "Some reason you didn't sleep that well? And you know that I'll drive if you want me to."

Tom shook his head slightly. "Oh...I don't know. Just...couldn't sleep, I guess," he hedged, hoping that Jason wouldn't see through him.

"Come on, Tom. Don't shut me out. What happened that kept you from sleeping? You seemed okay when we talked last night."

After a big sigh, the Ranger Commander opened up a little. "Bad dream-woke me up in the middle of the night and I had a hard time going back to sleep. Kept thinking about it."

"Tell me about it…might help." He couldn't help but worry about his lover, especially when he was unable to be there for him at times like that.

"I don't know-parts of it are kinda fuzzy. I know what brought it on, though...Mom. She's still dropping comments and those thinly-veiled accusations of hers. Pisses me off. If she thinks she knows something, I wish she'd just come out with it."

Jason sighed and shook his head. "I know that it's worrying you, but try not to let her get to ya." He reached a hand over and put it on a toned thigh, squeezing it slightly in support. "And next time, call me. If nothing else, we can talk a bit until you are able to go back to sleep."

"Yeah, okay. I will," Tommy answered, unenthusiastically. "I just wish we didn't have to hide and lie about our relationship," he said, putting his hand over Jason's.

"Give it time, Falcon. Maybe one day we won't have to hide it. Until then, we just have to be careful. We can still do stuff like the drive-in and not have anyone be the wiser."

The reminder of their first official date brought a smile to Tommy's face. "We need to do that again-that was fun! So, your folks were okay with you coming out here to the res for four days this soon after Christmas? Won't you miss some 'family stuff'?"

"They were fine with it. The only thing that's really left is New Year's Eve. Mom and dad are going to a party." He grinned. "Then again, so are we."

"Yep. I'm sure Adam's party is gonna be fun. Hopefully it won't have some of the same problems as the Christmas party did," he said, rolling his eyes. Neither young man had seen or heard from Katherine or Kimberly since the incident in the garage-and neither could care less.

"Yeah well, considering it's Adam, I can easily see him telling both of them, if he's even seen them since then, that they aren't welcome."

"Me too," Tom said with a giggle. "He's really become more assertive lately-I like it. It's cute on him."

"Personally, I think he's more of a second-in-command for you than Rocky. Adam's a lot calmer under pressure and uses his head a bit more." He chuckled softly. "But yeah, it is cute on him." He stroked a thumb along the denim clad thigh. "He and Carlos make a good couple."

"I think so too. They're also having a hard time with having to hide. Adam was telling me about it on the phone yesterday. He doesn't think their parents suspect, but he and Carlos are getting sick of sneaking around, just like we are."

"Can definitely empathize with them on that point." He sighed. "Unless things change drastically though, it's either continue sneaking around or risk getting hurt."

Tommy nodded sadly. "Maybe things will be a bit better in college-bigger town, more open minds, maybe. Anyway, for the next few days we can enjoy ourselves on the res without having to worry about what people think. We should be there soon," he said, checking the time.

"I know what you mean. Kind of like the idea of starting out fresh with you in a town where no one really knows us." He squeezed the thigh under his hand again before sitting back in his seat. Jason was quiet for a few moments before he turned his head to look at Tommy. "So where are we sleeping anyway?"

Tommy smiled. "In the guest room, I'm assuming," he replied.

Rolling his eyes, he snorted. "I mean, are they going to make us sleep in separate rooms or do they mind us sharing one?"

"Jase, you've been in that little house. There's only one guest room! And I know David doesn't mind-doubt that Sam will either. He knows, ya know."

"Guess I'm just a little nervous. This is the first time that we've spent the night at someone else's house as a couple."

"It's my family...the sane side of my family. Don't worry, Rex," he said with a reassuring smile.

A soft chuckle came from the burly teen. "Yeah, you're right. Although, after what David did at the party, I'm not so sure I'd call him 'sane'."

"Yeah, he took his life into his own hands there! I thought Alicia was gonna kill him! That is, after she fished the ice cube out of her cleavage!" he laughed.

"Definitely not one of his smarter moves. Least not amongst the whole group."

"Ah, she got over it. In no time at all she was giving him those big doe eyes again." He stopped for a moment and then smiled. "They're cute together-I'm glad my brother found someone to make him happy."

Jason grinned. "True, but I'm kind of glad that she didn't try to latch onto you. Might have had to get Zordon to help me send someone to another planet."

"Another planet, huh?" he chuckled. "Europe or Asia not far enough for ya?"

"Nah, too much of a chance she could make her way back here to the States."

"You're unreal," Tom chuckled. He looked up and saw the road sign that he'd been watching for. "Here we go," he said as he turned off the highway. "About 15 minutes and we'll be there."

"What? It's the truth." He leaned over and laid a soft kiss on his boyfriend's cheek. "I like having you all to myself and being able to call you 'mine'."

"Getting a little possessive, huh? Gonna mark me as yours?"

"Thought I'd already done that. However, if you'd like me to give you a more visible one." He grinned and moved a bit closer to his lover's ear. "I'll be more than happy to oblige."

"I was referring to something a little more permanent," Tom grinned.

"Well, I did give you a ring, which we never did talk about." He sat back, grinning. "Although, a tattoo with a falcon on it might serve as great reminder for me, I don't think a T-Rex would look that great on you."

"What about the ring? What did you want to talk about concerning it?"

"Was just thinking about David's suggestion. That we could use them as promise rings."

"That's right, I had forgotten about that." He looked at his boyfriend apologetically. "I'm sorry...with everything that happened at the party, it just went straight outta my head. We'll talk about it this weekend, okay?"

"Hey, I didn't bring it up to make you feel guilty. I know what happened at the party has been hanging on you pretty heavily. So, relax for me, okay babe? We've got time to talk things out."

"I know, just didn't want you to think that I was avoiding the subject, that's all," Tom smiled. Pulling up into the driveway, he parked behind the house. "Well, here we are. Looks like no one's here though-no trucks."

"I know you weren't avoiding things." He undid the seatbelt and stretched a bit. "They could be out getting groceries considering they knew we were coming."

"Considering the appetite you got on you, I hope so!" he kidded and opened the door. "I need to get out and let my legs unfold-care to join me?"

"Oh definitely." Opening his own door and stepping out, Jason couldn't help but remember the first time he'd come out here. He'd been trying to find David and Sam to let them know about Tommy being in the hospital. At the time, things had been looking rather bleak for his best friend. Telling his family, his blood family, what was going on, had been something Jason felt he had to do. Now, he realized that if it had been left up to the Oliver's, Tommy's blood family would never have known what happened to him.

As Tommy and Jason walked slowly over to the pasture fence, they noticed one particular horse that immediately raised his head and started toward them. "I knew it-here he comes," Tommy chuckled and pointed.

"Aw, come on Tom. You know he likes you." He laughed softly. "Least he isn't trying to kiss you or anything."

"Not yet-he hasn't made it all the way over here-just wait."

Grinning, Jason watched as the brown and white Paint sauntered up to them. Eaglefoot was still a stallion and of that there was no doubt. The thickly muscled neck ran into a deep chest with a well-rounded shoulder. The horse looked like he'd stepped out of a breed book and the long mane that trailed to one side was ruffled slightly in the breeze. "He really is beautiful."

Reaching up to stroke the horse's muzzle, Tommy had to agree. "Yeah, he is. And he's a character too! Keep an eye on him!"

"Well, considering I'm gonna be on the 'half-dead nag', I'm sure that I'll be able to watch him a lot from behind."

Tom chuckled. "I was kidding about that, ya know. I'm not exactly an expert rider myself. David knows how to choose the right horse for you, don't worry. Me...I'm pretty sure I'll be ridin' ol' Eaglefoot here. He'd be highly offended if I tried to ride a different one."

He stroked the big, powerful steed as he talked, playing with the long mane.

"Might be interesting to see his reaction to you on another horse though." Jason stated, watching his boyfriend relax with the animal.

"Yeah, it might," he smiled, turning as he heard a truck pulling up into the driveway. "There's David," he said, starting to walk toward the house.

Grinning, David watched as his brother and Jason started towards them. "Hey guys. Hope you haven't been waiting long."

"No. Maybe ten minutes-Eaglefoot was just saying 'hello'," Tommy offered and then gave his elder brother a hug. "Good to see you again so soon."

"I'm glad that you were able to make it. Wasn't sure considering you were coming out here to visit us 'heathens'." He held his little brother for a bit longer, then let him go and held his hand out to Jason. "So he convinced you come along and have your ass beat, huh?"

"Like I've been telling you, Mom makes her comments and smart remarks, but she doesn't really try to control me anymore. Well...maybe I shouldn't say that cause she'd love nothing more, but...I told her I was coming out here and she doesn't care enough to fight with me about it."

Nodding, David winked at Jason, then went over to the truck and reached into the bed. "Well, you guys can help me get the groceries inside."

"Sure, be glad to," Tommy said and took several of the plastic bags. "Hope you got enough food-Jason eats like a horse."

Jason snorted, finally having recovered from David's remark about having his ass beat. "Like you have any room to talk." He grabbed the remainder of the bags and followed the two brothers inside.

"So where's Sam?" Tommy asked. "I thought he'd be here."

"Yeah, I've been wanting to see him again," Jason added.

David was quiet for a few moments. "He's meditating. Said he wanted to clarify a few things before he started anything." He shrugged. "It's Sam for you. He's also gathering a few herbs for one of his specialty dishes we're having tomorrow night."

"Started anything? Like what?" Tommy querried, completely puzzled by David's answer.

"I have no clue. I'm guessing it's something to do with the Shaman side of things. He's a little more vague when it comes to that." He chuckled softly, then grinned. "Actually, he's a lot more vague."

"I can believe that," Jason remarked. "So ummm...Tommy tells me that Sam knows about our relationship," he said carefully.

David raised an eyebrow. "You've talked to Sam, Jason. Do you really think you can hide much from him?"

"No, not really," he said and paused. "But is he okay with it? I guess that's the important question."

"Yeah, I'd like to know too," Tommy added. "We don't want to offend him in his own home."

"As far as I know, he's perfectly fine with it, but if you really want to know, you're going to have to ask him. He did have me change the sheets this morning saying he wanted you to both feel comfortable."

"So I take it he's okay with us sharing a bed then," Tom remarked, trying to be clear on that point.

Sam walked in, joining the small group in the kitchen. "If I had a problem with it, young Falcon, then I would not have suggested that you and the young Puma would be comfortable with clean sheets or another blanket on the bed."

"Sam! Hi there! I didn't hear you come in," Tommy exclaimed, giving his great-uncle a big hug.

"Hey Sam! Good to see you again, sir," Jason said. "I know he's the young Falcon, but...does that make me the young Puma you mentioned?"

He hugged the teen in return. "That's because you were busy making noise and not using the rest of your senses while you did so." Releasing his great-nephew, the Tribal Elder turned to Jason, then nodded. "It does. Much in common you have with the Puma."

David grinned at the look on his little brother's face. "It's okay. He still gets onto me at times about not being more in tune with my surroundings. It's just a Sam thing."

He grinned back at his brother. Turning to Sam, he said, "You think that could be his spirit animal, Sam? Not having been a Ninjetti, he never received one."

"It is one that I have seen for him. A Spirit Quest would be good for both of you. It would help you re-connect with the Falcon and allow Jason to connect with his own."

"I've heard that a quest is very involved. Maybe we could do it during Spring Break, whatcha think?" Jason asked his boyfriend.

"Sure. As long as these two don't mind us hanging around that week," Tommy grinned, looking at his brother.

"It won't be problem." David said, grinning. "Considering you would only be here at the house a few days."

"David is right. The quest would take place in the hills behind us." Sam looked over at Jason. "And yes, it would be very involved. There is much for you both to do between now and then if you really want to do this. Most importantly, you must learn to open yourselves up to that around you and listen."

The burly teen nodded. "I'm willing to give it a shot, especially if it will help me understand your world a little bit better."

"Good. I think it'd be good for both of us," Tom said with a smile, reaching out and catching hold of his boyfriend's hand.

"It definitely would," David replied. "Now, let's get your stuff put into the guest room and let you two relax a bit."

The Elder grinned at them all. "Lunch will be light, but dinner will be at six tonight."

Jason's stomach picked that moment to growl. "Thanks, Sam." He blushed slightly.

Tom had to laugh. "That'll be great. Thank you," he said, walking with Jason down the short hallway to the small guest room.

David stuck his head in the door. "Make yourselves at home. I'll have lunch ready in about 20 minutes, okay?" he said with a grin. It was nice to have his little brother around-he wished it could be more often.

"Thanks David, we really appreciate this." Stepping further into the room, the Gold Ranger set his bag down on the floor and took a seat on the bed.

Tommy dropped his duffle bag in the chair and then stretched out across the bed. "This is gonna be a nice four days. I love it out here," he said, closing his eyes and smiling.

"Definitely." As David left them alone, Jason laid back and pulled Tommy close.

"Maybe you'll relax while you're out here."

"Yep...I'm gonna give it a good try. As long as this thing doesn't go off," he replied, indicating his communicator.

"Hopefully they'll leave us alone, especially after the fight last night." He shifted slightly. They'd all taken several shots. The long holiday with little action had made them all slow for the first few minutes of the fight.

"I hope so. We dismantled enough of their troops last night to keep them busy rebuilding for a while." The battle had been a long one with the Machine Empire sending wave after wave of cogs and monsters to keep the rangers busy. At long last, Zordon's forces had won out, but not before taking some bumps and bruises. "By the way, how's your leg?"

"Sore and it was really hard to hide the limp from Mom. You should see the bruise. It covers most of my thigh."

Tom grimaced. "Ouch. Tell you what, when we go out to have lunch, I'll ask Sam for something to put on it. He's got all sorts of great traditional treatments for everything from bruises and bug bites to ulcers and impotence," he grinned.

"Well, the last one isn't a problem, but I'll definitely take something for the bruise." He grinned slightly. "Kind of made me glad your hand was on my left leg and not on my right." He absently rubbed lightly over the injured area. "Still not gonna let it bother me considering it should be gone by tomorrow."

"Yeah, between Sam's medicine and ranger accelerated healing, it just might be gone by tomorrow. Speaking of, have you noticed any difference in your new powers and your old ones?"

"They're a little stronger, but they feel weird at times, too. Pyramidas is cool though."

"Weird? How weird?" Tommy asked, getting a bit concerned.

"It's hard to describe, but at times I get the feeling that the powers are fighting against me. Then it'll stop and everything will go smoothly once again." He looked at his boyfriend. "You've seen me hesitate a couple of times. No one else may have noticed, but I know that you probably picked up on it."

"Yeah, I have noticed once or twice, but I didn't really think much of it. You might wanna talk to Alpha and Zordon though-might be the start of something," the Ranger Commander suggested.

"I will when we get back. For now, I don't want to think about." He chuckled softly. "We both know that they'll start running tests and monitoring me during battles for a bit."

"Oh yeah, you'll be under the microscope for a while, but I still think it's a good idea. Honestly though, I'll be glad when neither of us has to deal with it anymore."

"Same here. I'm willing to go through the withdrawals again to know that we won't be interrupted at a moment's notice or risking our lives each time we go out."

"Oh yeah...I sorta remember what that was like," Tom said. Just then, David came knocking on the door. "Guys, lunch is ready."

"All right, thanks David." Sitting up slowly, the Original Red Ranger looked over at his best friend. "Guess we should go out there, huh?" He started to sit up slowly, wincing a bit.

Immediately upon noticing his best friend's pain, Tommy sat up and took hold of Jason's arm. "Here, let me help," he said, carefully pulling him up. "And yeah, we should go on out there-need to talk to Sam anyway."

Nodding, Jason flexed his leg a bit. "Yeah, think after we eat that I might need to take a walk, stretch my leg a little bit." He leaned over and kissed the other teen lightly. "Come on, let's go eat."

"You got it. There's some great trails in the woods behind the house or we could walk down to the local store-whichever," Tom replied, taking hold of Jason's hand and heading for the door. "Wonder what's for lunch?"

"Let's leave the trails for tomorrow. I don't want to overtax myself, you know?"

After lunch was finished and they'd helped David clean up, the boys decided to take a walk to stretch their legs. "Come on, I'll show you some of the sights," Tommy said, walking across the back porch towards the steps. "I can show you where a few people live."

"That works." As they walked, he looked around. "It's almost like going back a hundred years or so, except for the TV antennas, satellite dishes, and trucks."

Tommy chuckled. "Yeah, it really is-some of these houses seem that old. Most of the young people leave after they graduate, so all that's really left is the older generation. David's an exception. I wouldn't mind living here, though."

"It would have some advantages. Less likely to get disturbed out here and I imagine it's definitely quieter, especially after it gets dark."

"Oh my gosh, wait until you hear the quiet," he grinned. "I know that sounds funny, but it's true. You can actually hear the horses walking around in the pasture, frogs, crickets-almost no street noise."

"Damn, might not be able to sleep if it's so quiet." He chuckled softly. "You know, it's really not that bad out here. Granted, it's a bit away from everything, but still." He looked over at his boyfriend. "Makes you wonder how they feel about things that are different."

"Like us, you mean?" the Ranger Commander asked, meeting his lover's eyes. "I asked David about that. He said that it's pretty much the same here as it is everywhere-some people don't care and some do."

"Guess it's like that pretty much anywhere." He was quiet for a moment as they started walking again. "You given anymore thought to what David suggested with the rings?"

"Oh, the promise ring thing? Yeah, it has crossed my mind a time or two. What about you? What do you think about it? By the way, that's where Mrs. Silverhawke lives. She makes all sorts of cool traditional jewelry and clothes. I think she's the one that taught David-besides Sam, of course."

Jason grinned. "Her, I've met." Again, the burly teen was quiet. "I think it's a good idea." He looked over at his partner. "If you really think about it, our rings are the closest we can get to engagement rings with being totally open about it. Besides, we both put a lot of thought into what we wanted for each other. So having them stand for something else," he shrugged, "well, it just seems fitting, you know?"

One word that Jason had said stood out in Tommy's mind. So much so that he had trouble hearing anything else. "Engagement?" he said, sounding a bit more alarmed than he meant to.

A soft blush came over the Gold Ranger. "Guess that might've been the wrong word to use, but it's definitely a promise to you that I won't stray from your side."

"Sorry Jase...I didn't mean...it's not that I...damn," he uttered, coming to a stop. He looked into his partner's face. "I love you, you know that. I guess you just surprised me." He took a deep breath. "I think using these rings as promise rings is a great idea. I mean, it took us so long to get together...neither of us is going to start looking around any time soon."

"Definitely not, especially considering I almost lost you before I could tell you how I feel." He gave his boyfriend a soft smile. "I know we don't need rings to tell us that we're committed to each other. To me, it's just more proof of that and when I'm not with you, I can look down and see the ring. Makes me feel closer to you."

"Well now that we're talking about it, there's something I've been wanting to ask you." He took a breath and gathered his thoughts. "I know we're committed to each other, and there's no one else I could ever want. This is not going to come out right," he shook his head. "Well, you know there's talk of legalizing same sex marriage sometime in the future. Could you ever see us...married?" he asked, blushing slightly.

Jason stopped and moved closer to the man he loved. "You mean could I ever see myself living with you day in and day out, year after year? Growing old together? Being there for each other during the good times and the low points?" He put a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "I couldn't see me doing all of that with anyone else, Anamchara."

A warm smile spread across Tommy's handsome face. "That's good to know. I mean, we're still really young to even be talking about something like that, but hey...you never know." They turned and started walking again with Tommy pointing out the homes of a few other people including the tribal chief.

"Yeah well, I was kidnapped by a floating head and given the power to change into a spandex-wearing hero of sorts. Doesn't get much stranger than that." He settled into the walk with Tommy.

"Oh I can beat that. I was kidnapped by a space witch and put under an evil spell, given powers-including a green spandex suit, controlled a huge fighting machine that looked suspiciously like Godzilla, and tried to kill the man that I now love more than anything."

"Yeah well, I let you win." He chuckled softly as they entered the pasture and started back.

"Good," Tom said with a big grin, reaching over and grasping Jason's hand. At the surprised look he calmly announced, "This is family land...and no one's watching us out here anyway. As a matter of fact, we could go take a roll in the hay if you want."

The Original Red Ranger arched an eyebrow at that. "Do you know how bad hay itches if it gets in the wrong places?"

"Had experience at it, then? Do tell, lover..." Tommy replied, a suspicious look crossing his face.

He blushed. "Told you that I was a Boy Scout. We had to clean all the pots after dinner after we got into a hay fight in the barn. Royally sucks to be washing dishes with bits of hay in your boxers."

Not sure if he believed him, the Ranger Commander gave him a sideways glance while they walked. "Uh huh...you sure it's not something more like you and Trini trying each other on for size? Or maybe some chic in Switzerland? They have barns in Switzerland, I'm sure."

"No, Trini is allergic to hay. Found that out when we were like five and tried to go on a hayride one Halloween. As for Switzerland, no time. First week we got there, I was so jet lagged it wasn't funny. Add the withdrawals on top of it." He shook his head. "Ended up getting put on bed rest for three days after I kept falling asleep during our activities."

"Me thinks you doth protest too much," Tom said, still not convinced. "But anyway, we can find somewhere else to take a tumble if you're interested. Once your leg gets better, of course."

Jason stopped and frowned at him, removing his hand from the other teen's. "Why would I make something like that up, Tom? You think I'm trying to avoid being with you or something? How the hell can you think that?" He shook his head and started walking off.

Jason's words were like a slap across the face. "Jase, wait...hang on," Tommy said, picking up his pace to catch up with his partner. "Jase...I didn't mean anything by that..."

Shaking his head, the Gold Ranger kept walking, ignoring the twinges in his leg that told him he was pushing it too much. "I'm going back to the house."

When he saw that his boyfriend apparently wasn't going to listen to him, Tom stopped chasing him. "Fine. If you won't even listen to me then I'll just stay out here." He watched him walking away, then turned and headed toward the barn. "What the hell just happened?" he grumbled, looking up to see Eaglefoot slowly walking toward him.

Making it to the other side of the pasture, Jason slipped through the fence and walked over to a fallen log. He sighed heavily as he took a seat against it, stretching his leg out before him. After a few moments, he leaned his head back, enjoying the shade that was offered and using the time to think.

The stallion slowly lowered his head, gently nudging the one he viewed as master in the chest.

"Hey boy," Tom said with a sigh, reaching out to stroke the horse's face. "You ever get the feeling you don't know what's goin' on?" He glanced over and saw his boyfriend sitting by the fence, staring off into space. "Guess I said something wrong."

The horse nudged him again, forcing him back a step towards the fence.

"You trying to push me away too?" Tommy asked, looking down at the stallion's face.

The stallion snorted softly, then shook his head. Swinging his head a bit, the paint seemed to be looking over at the other teen before turning back to his master.

The young man had always known that there was something special about this animal-that he seemed to understand more than a horse should. Looking over in the direction that Eaglefoot had shook his head, he saw Jason still sitting there. "You're trying to tell me something, aren't you, boy?"

Nudging the human in front of him again, Eaglefoot forced him back another step. Stepping forward slightly, the horse draped his long mane over Tommy's head for a moment, then lipped at the empty hand with velvet soft lips.

Tommy couldn't help but chuckle at the big animal. "You gonna push me all the way over to the fence?" he asked, shaking his head.

A soft whicker came from the animal before he took hold of the boy's shirt and started walking towards the fence. The big stallion was careful not to step on his master as he moved. His neck was cocked slightly to the side as he walked, ensuring no harm came to the boy.

Not believing his eyes, Tom allowed himself to be pulled along. "Pushy little cuss, aren'tcha?" he asked.

Hearing the approaching hooves, Jason turned his head. His eyebrows shot up as he watched his boyfriend being frog-marched across the pasture by the stallion. A soft chuckle escaped him despite his mood. _'Oh man, what a time to not have my camera.' _He tried to get slowly to his feet, but his leg cramped up and forced him back down.

The stallion stopped a few feet from the fence, then let go of the teen. With another soft nudge, the horse pushed his master on further.

"Okay, okay...I'm goin'...damn," Tom said, straightening out his shirt from where the stallion had had it in his mouth. After getting another snort from Eaglefoot, Tommy stepped up to the fence and looked at Jason. "This horse is about to get violent if I don't talk to you, so..." he climbed through the fence and moved over to his boyfriend, crouching down beside him. "Your leg is really hurting, isn't it?"

Sighing softly, the burly teen nodded. "Yeah. Think I pushed too much and then it cramped up on me." Reaching out, he took hold of his partner's hand. "I'm sorry for walking off like that, but when you questioned me like that." He shook his head. "I never lied to you, Tom. Not about who I've been with or what I've done."

"I know that, Jase. I was just kidding...playing with you, ya know? I'm sorry if I upset you, but why did you get so defensive? That's not like you."

"Because that's not a joke to me, Tom. What we have isn't a joke. Yes, I might take it a bit more serious than you do, but I watched you die. I spent days at your bedside not knowing if you were going to make it no matter how much I wanted you to live. So I'm sorry if I don't take stuff like that as a joke right now."

Tommy dropped his head and sighed. Jason was right and he knew it. He hadn't meant to be insensitive, but apparently that's exactly what he was. "Jase...I'm sorry." He looked up to meet his boyfriend's eyes and took his hand. "I didn't mean it. I know that you'd never lie to me about who you've been with and such. We love each other and want to be together, that's the important thing. Forgive me?"

"I love you, Tommy. There's no way that I could ever not forgive you." He pulled his friend to him and kissed him gently. "Sorry for walking away like that."

"I understand. Now what say we go inside and get Sam to look at your thigh? I'm sure he's got something that'll help," Tom suggested, noticing the grimaces that crossed his lover's face when he put weight on his leg.

Jason was unable to bite back the groan when his full weight was put on his bad leg. "Man, that really hurts now." He let his boyfriend help him. "Guess that'll teach me."

"Teach you what? It's not like you asked for that huge bruise." Tommy wrapped an arm around his boyfriend and helped to support him as they walked into the house.

"No, but it'll teach me to speak up sooner about large bruises."

"Granted." Once inside the living room, Tommy spotted Sam in the kitchen. "Sam, could you help us with something please?"

The old man came into the living room. "Finally need something for the pain which causes you to limp, do you?"

Jason blushed, then nodded. "Yeah, I've got a really bad bruise on my thigh and it caused my leg to cramp up on me when we were walking."

Sam nodded. "David, please help our Falcon get his mate into the bedroom. I will start the water for some tea and then come take a look to see what will work best."

With David's help, Tommy got Jason back into the bedroom and helped him get his jeans off so that Sam could take a look at the injury. "Wow...that is one helluva bruise you've got there, babe."

Snorting, the burly teen stretched out on the bed, letting David set a couple of pillows behind him to help him sit up a bit. "Tell me about it. I honestly think it looks worse now than it did this morning."

"Tell me again how that happened. Something must've caught you full on to bruise you like that through the armor."

A blush crept over the Gold Ranger's features. "You know that ball and chain weapon that thing was using?" When his boyfriend nodded, a frown slipping into place, Jason continued. "After Adam shot the ball off the end, I went after the creep again. Ended up getting the chain wrapped around my thigh before I could get him down."

David stood there and listened, his eyes growing wider. Even though he'd seen the rangers fighting the bad guys on TV, it was quite different to imagine the two young men in front of him doing it.

Tommy winced at Jason's explanation. "Oooh, that must've hurt. Where was I when this was going on? I didn't see that happen."

"You were with Kat, Tanya and Rocky working on that pack of creeps that were sent down."

"Oh, okay. You were able to dismantle the mechanical jerk though, right?" Tom asked, carefully stroking the side of Jason's injured leg.

"Yeah, I took a couple more hits first, but I got him." He looked down at the bruise, wincing slightly when he realized you could see the actual links of the chain in the bruise. "Guess that creep really did a number on me, huh?"

"Yeah, he did. I'm kinda surprised you weren't better protected by your suit, though. I guess the Gold powers are different-maybe it's because they're alien, you think?"

"Not sure, guess it's gonna have to be something I talk to Zordon about." He looked up as Sam came into the room.

"Alien?" David asked, after standing there quietly listening. "But aren't they all alien?"

Tommy turned to his brother, scratching his head. "Well...yeah, in a way I guess they are. But Jason's powers are different from the rest of us Zeo rangers. Our powers were sorta configured, I guess you'd say, to our bodies. Jason took the Gold powers in an emergency situation without any kind of adjustment. They're configured for Triforian physiology, not human. I don't really understand it, I just accept it-speeds things up," he smiled. "If I had to completely understand everything I deal with, I'd never get anything done."

Sam snorted as he took a seat beside Jason on the bed. "Sometimes it is better that way. Then there are those times when knowledge will benefit you more than time lost." He looked at Jason. "This bruise is deep, to the bone it goes. Even with your healing I have heard talk of, it will be another day before it is fully healed." With hands that were roughened by years of hard work, but a touch that was gentle, he began to examine the teen's leg.

The first time the Elder touched the actual bruise itself, Jason hissed through his teeth and closed his eyes. The light touch had sent waves of pain coursing through his body that the powers weren't even touching.

Tommy shot a look of deep concern at his boyfriend and then looked at Sam. "Is there anything you can do to help? Maybe to take some of the pain away?" He hated to see his lover in such distress.

The gray head nodded. "A poultice will help loosen the muscle and draw out some of the pain. It will also help dispense the blood that rests below the skin. The tea that I am brewing will help with the pain."

"Yeah, that tea works really well, guys," David spoke up. "I've had need of it a few times lately when I've hurt myself one way or another around here. Really helps you sleep, too."

Jason nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me." He looked over at Tommy. "Sorry I'm not much good right now."

"Oh please. I just want you to feel better."

Sam stood up again. "David, come with me to help with the tea and poultice. When the tea is done, you will bring it back to the young Puma." He turned his wise gaze to rest on Jason. "Drink it while it is still warm. When the poultice is ready, I will bring it in and apply it to your bruise before wrapping it. The tea will help with the pain while I work."

Sighing softly, the other teen nodded. "Thanks for doing this Sam." He watched them walk out of the bedroom, then looked at his boyfriend. "Glad Sam can help me. I'd hate to have to teleport to the Command Center just to get this looked at and treated."

"Yeah, I know. But at least we have that option. Hate to think how long that would take to heal without some 'special' help. Matter of fact, without the armor, that weapon probably would've broken your leg," Tommy responded, stroking Jason's thick, dark hair.

"And with that being my femur, I would be out of action for months." He shivered slightly, wincing as it pulled at his leg. "Not something I really want to think about."

"No, not at all. We can't have you laid up for that long," Tom smiled. "We need you. I need you."

Leaning in, Jason kissed the other teen softly on the lips. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

"I know, and I'm really glad about that. Sam's treatments will work and you'll be feeling better by tomorrow-just wait and see."

"Plan on it, but I also don't plan on really pushing it tomorrow either."

"Don't worry, we'll take it easy while we're out here. Nothing we absolutely have to do anyway." Tom turned as David came back into the room with the tea that Sam had made for Jason.

"Here ya go, Jason. Now like Sam told you, sip it slowly but try to get it all down while it's warm. Once you've got a little in you it'll help for when Sam starts applying the poultice."

"Thanks David." He took the tea and smelled it before taking a cautious sip. "Hmm, not bad. Mom's had me drink worse stuff than this."

"Yeah, it's not too bad-as herbal tea goes. It'll make you drowsy and might make you feel like you've got a buzz, but it's harmless, I assure you."

"I'll take your word for it." Taking another long drink, Jason sighed. The warmth of the tea was already starting to relax him. "Wish you guys had a hot tub. That'd be really nice."

"Sorry, no hot tub. We have a hot spring nearby, but I don't think your leg would appreciate the trip right now," David answered.

"How about we see how things are tomorrow? If it feels okay, we can try it, the hot water might even help." The Gold Ranger finished off the tea in another long drink and set the empty cup aside as Sam started back into the room.

"Okay, we'll decide tomorrow. If you're feeling better, we may try to take a ride up to the springs. If not, we can go another time-they're not going anywhere," David commented.

Sam nodded. "It would be a good trip to make if the Puma is feeling up to it." Setting the bowl down that contained a steaming, thick paste, the tribal Elder picked up the empty cup and handed it to David. "Another cup for him if you will David, half from the blue pot and half from the white with two spoons of honey."

"Yes sir, no problem," David answered and headed out to the kitchen to do as he was asked.

"Wow, that has an..._interesting_ smell to it, Sam. What's in it?" Tommy asked, wrinkling his nose a bit.

Once David had left, the old man turned to Jason. "The poultice is very warm. On your skin, it will feel hot, but the heat is needed for it to work. I will try to be gentle. The herbs work best if they are worked into the muscle. That is why I had David give you the tea before starting."

Jason nodded. "I understand, Sam. Thank you for doing this."

Nodding slightly, the elder picked up the bowl and scooped some of the paste onto his fingers before applying it to the bruise on the teen's thigh. "It is a mixture of many herbs and roots, crushed up then boiled. As it cools, it is strained before adding some more herbs and re-warmed. The combination lets it thicken into a paste."

"I see," Tom said, rubbing his nose. "Well, as long as it works. How's it feel, Jase?"

He grunted slightly as Sam worked a bit more of the paste into the bruise. "It's really warm at first, almost hot, then whatever's in it starts working and I can actually feel the muscle relax a little bit." The teen winced as the older man worked a particularly sore area.

David came back in with Jason's second cup of tea and sat it on the nightstand next to him. "Start working on it when you can, okay?" he added and then moved out of Sam's way.

"Thanks David." He sighed softly as Sam sat up a bit and paused in what he was doing. Using the break, Jason took a drink from the fresh cup.

The older man watched, then nodded. "I've finished working it into the muscle, but more will be applied before I can wrap it. Afterwards, you would do well to rest until dinner. The tea might make you sleepy. Do not fight it."

"All right." The gray head nodded before beginning to apply a thick layer of the paste over the bruised area.

Once Sam had finished and wrapped Jason's thigh with a bandage, he and David left to allow the boys to rest some. Tommy walked over and sat on the bed next to Jason, gently rubbing his boyfriend's back. "Is it helping?" he asked.

"Yeah, and I can feel the muscle relaxing, which is really good." He took another drink of the tea.

"Good...glad to hear it. I'm a bit sore too, but I don't think I have any big bruises on me like that." He continued gently rubbing his partner's body. "How's the tea?"

"Not that bad. It's a little bitter, but I had worse at the Conference." He took another drink and set the cup back down, then let his arm come around to rest on Tommy's shoulders. "You check to make sure none turned up lately?"

"No, I haven't looked lately. Wanna check my back and the back of my legs for me? I do have some sore spots and I can't really see 'em."

Chuckling softly, Jason grinned. "Sure, I'll check them for you. Strip down to your boxers and get comfortable. I'll check you over and then we can both rest for a bit."

"Alright, I can do that," the Ranger Commander answered, getting up and slowly beginning to strip off his clothes. He stood right in front of Jason so that his boyfriend could watch him closely.

While he watched, Jason could feel himself start to come alive. He tried to ignore it though as he looked over his partner's body. "You've got a couple of deep ones, but nothing that looks as bad as my thigh."

"Anything that needs Sam's attention, you think?"

"That one on your hip might, but only because it might make you a bit uncomfortable if you hit it." He reached out and rested a hand towards the back of the red Zeo ranger's left hip. "My hand's just above it."

Tommy gently prodded at the area below Jason's hand and felt a definite twinge. "Mmmm yeah, that's pretty sore. Think I should go get Sam?"

"Might as well. No sense in letting it freeze you up like my leg did to me."

"Okay." He stopped and looked for a minute and then got a questioning look on his face. "Should I walk out there in my boxers or put my jeans back on? I know that sounds strange but...damn. They're my family but I don't feel like I know them." He sighed and just looked at Jason, wanting his partner to tell him what to do.

Reaching out again, the Gold Ranger took hold of his lover's hand. "Tom, they're not going to care if you're in your jeans or your boxers. Just go out there like you are, it'll be okay."

"Yeah..." he started nodding, "...you're right. I, uh...it's just a weird situation, that's all. I hardly know my own brother!" he said, suddenly sounding angry, his eyes flashing. "Life just sucks sometimes."

"Hey, you've got the time, Tom. You're eighteen now and nothing says that you can't come out and visit your brother if you want."

"I know, but look at all the time we've lost. He's my blood and he's almost like a stranger to me. I mean, I know more about some of the losers we go to school with than I know about my own brother."

"The lost time you can't do anything about, bro. The rest of your lives? That's still ahead of you and gives you both plenty of time to make new memories with each other." He squeezed his boyfriend's hand. "Go get Sam to look at your side."

Taking a deep breath, Tom said, "Yeah, you're right...as usual. Sorry I came unhinged there for a minute. I'll go get Sam." With that, he turned and walked out of the bedroom, still seeming a tad insecure.

David looked up as his brother came into the living room. He frowned at the small bruises that covered the teen's body. "What do you two do? Paint a target on yourselves that says 'Hit me! Hit me!'?"

Tommy had to grin. "Well...no, not really. Targets aren't really necessary...I'm already wearing red spandex. But ummm, you think Sam has any of that stuff left over that he could use on me?"

"Yeah, there's some left. He's not actually here, but I can do it for you if you want. He's actually getting a couple of items he needs for dinner tonight."

"Well...if you're not busy-that would be great," Tommy answered.

"Nope." He grinned, standing up. "It's a good excuse to get away from the breeding charts."

"One of these days you're gonna have to teach me some of that. I'd love to be able to help out around here."

The elder brother chuckled softly. "Well, plan on spending a week on those alone. Took me three months to figure them out from the last guy that was doing them." He walked over to the stove and put some of the poultice mix into a bowl. "You going to stretch out next to Jason?"

"Yeah, there's enough room on the bed. Unless you want me somewhere else."

"No, I was asking so that I know how big of a bandage to get. Need to wrap this so that it stays in place."

"Oh okay, well I'll just lay down on the bed then. Thanks for doing this, David. I didn't realize I had any bruises that needed attention until Jase pointed them out." He walked back toward the bedroom with his brother following.

Grabbing the items he needed, David followed him. "No problem." He chuckled softly. "Besides, I get the feeling that even if you'd grown up out here, I'd have been helping Sam do this a lot."

Tom turned and laughed at him. "Probably so. I've always had an uncanny knack for getting roughed up. If there's a bruise or cut to be had, I'll end up with it."

"Figures and add in the terrain out here, yeah, I can see you always having a bruise or scrape somewhere." He nodded towards the bed once they got into the bedroom. "Pick how you want to rest for an hour and then we'll get this done."

Since one bruise was on his back and the other on his hip, Tom chose to lay on his side so that both could be treated at once. "Can you get to me okay this way?"

David grinned wickedly. "You know, if you weren't hurting a bit right now, I'd make you rethink what you just said." Setting the stuff down, David nodded at his brother. "Ready? It'll be a bit warm, almost hot at first."

"Feels good though." Jason stated drowsily as the watched the brothers.

Tommy just shook his head. "Oh shut up," he directed at his brother and chuckled. When David started applying the paste-like substance, he couldn't help but jump slightly. "Man...that _is_ warm."

"It'll cool slightly, but the warmth is what helps it work and go deep into the muscles." He continued applying the paste to both areas. When that was done, he covered both spots before wrapping it. "How are they pain wise? Cause I can get you some of the tea that Jason had."

"Well, to be honest, they really weren't hurting all that bad until Jase pointed them out to me. Ever since then...yeah, they're beginning to hurt worse."

The elder Oliver started chuckling softly. "Funny how bruises tend to do that." He patted the teen's shoulder. "Rest there for a moment and I'll go get you some." He cleaned up the supplies he'd used and took them with him.

He looked up at his boyfriend. "That tea makes you loopy, doesn't it?"

"Not so much loopy as kinda drowsy." He grinned lazily. "Yeah, it does." He chuckled softly.

Tommy had to laugh. "You're loopy...don't tell me you're not." He looked Jason in the eyes. "Oh well, as long as you're feeling better."

Leaning a bit, Jason kissed him softly. "Yeah, I am. Figure a nap will do us both good, especially after last night's fight."

"You're probably right. So we'll be loopy together...might be fun," he grinned.

"Will definitely be fun." He grinned at his boyfriend. "Means we get to sleep together."

When Jason started giggling, Tom could tell that he really was "impaired". "I'll bet you're funny when you're drunk."

David chuckled softly as he came back into the room. "He probably is, but right now it's more of a 'high' than a 'drunk'." He held the cup of warm tea out to his brother. "Just like I told Jason, sip it slowly but try to finish it while it's still warm."

"Okay, I will. Did you give me the same amount as you gave laughing boy here?"

"It's a standard amount of peyote in the tea itself." He laughed softly at the raised eyebrow he got. "Used properly, it doesn't cause hallucinations or anything like that. It will cut down on the pain and there is actually very little in the tea. The rest are a bunch of different herbs that Sam uses for a variety of things."

"Okay, cause I was gonna remind you that he outweighs me by about 20 pounds and if it makes him this silly, I don't wanna know what it's gonna do to me."

"At the most, it'll make you a little loopy like him. It'll also make you drowsy, which is what Sam aims to do when he uses it."

"Alright," Tommy said, cautiously taking a small sip. "Not bad," he decided and continued to drink the hot tea. A couple of minutes later, he turned his head toward his brother. "David? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." He took a seat in a chair next to the bed, grinning slightly when he noticed that Jason was fighting hard to stay awake, but said nothing.

"Well, when you think about all the time you and I missed out on...does it make you mad? Cause it does me."

For several moments, the elder Oliver was quiet, then he nodded. "A little, but at the same time I believe that maybe there was a reason Sam couldn't find you as a child." He leaned forward a bit. "I mean, despite how you were and still are treated at times by the Olivers, you've had experiences that I never will. All of that makes you the person that you are. Really think about it Tommy. If you had been found by Sam and we'd been raised together, then the chances of you ever having become a ranger are slim and none." He nodded at Jason, who had finally drifted off to sleep. "Nor would you have met him." David was quiet for a moment. "Do I miss all the things we could have shared and done together? Yeah, I do."

Tommy was silent for a short time. He kept sipping his tea while he thought. "You know," he finally said, "I've never really thought about it that way. Things would be really different, you're right. And I wouldn't wanna think about not ever having met lunkhead over here," he smiled, indicating the sleeping Gold Ranger.

"If there's one thing I've learned living out here, it's that our experiences make us the people that we are and help shape us into the ones that we will become. If I had grown up in the city, then I wouldn't be as interested in helping improve things here on the Res." He grinned slightly. "Besides, it gives me the chance to go into the city and visit you when I want a reminder of why I live out here."

"You should've visited me in L.A.-you'd've gotten back here as fast as you possibly could! I just can't see you being a big city boy," Tom grinned, starting to feel a bit sleepy.

He chuckled softly. "No thanks. Angel Grove is big enough for me. Not to mention it has some 'unusual' attractions." He reached out and brushed a strand of hair from his brother's forehead. "Get some rest. We'll be in to change the poultices out in about an hour."

The younger man yawned in spite of himself. "Okay...thanks bro," he said, letting his heavy eyelids close.

"You're welcome, little brother." He pulled the blankets up over both teens and quietly left the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

(scene change)

Jason stroked the soft nose of the gelding he'd finished brushing. David had said his name was Dakota and it somehow fit the stout, black and white paint that he was going to be riding. He grinned as the horse lowered his head slightly, wanting to be scratched more. "Like that do you?"

"Getting acquainted over there?" Tommy said with smile. He was still busy brushing Eaglefoot and both of them were waiting on David to come in with his horse.

"Yeah, he seems to be pretty easy going." The Gold Ranger grinned over at his friend. "How's Eaglefoot?"

Tommy leaned back and looked up at the face of the big stallion. "Oh...my boy's fine," he grinned. "Looks like he's rarin' to go."

Jason was about to say something when David came into the barn, leading a beautiful paint. With one blue eye on a mostly white face and one brown, the horse held an air of superiority. "Wow."

"Yeah, he's really somethin', isn't he?" Tommy commented, looking over at the big stallion.

Laughing softly, David led the horse past Jason and tied him so that he could be groomed. "This is Jumping Eagle. He's the main herd stallion, or herd boss." Grabbing a brush, he started cleaning the brown, black and white coat. He chuckled softly when the horse's top lip curled up when he hit a ticklish spot.

"He's really beautiful." Shaking his head, the Original Red Ranger grinned. "I never imagined that two stallions would be this close and not fighting."

"Oh I don't know...there's three stallions standing here and we're not fighting," Tommy said with a mischievous grin, winking at his partner.

David rolled his eyes and put his brushes up. "Come on you two. I'll show you the saddles and stuff to get then help you so we can get out of here."

"Oh come on, Dave...you know that was funny," Tom said, following his brother into the tack room. Jason gave a chuckle and followed as well.

"Did I say it wasn't?" He grinned and handed his brother two saddle pads on top of a western saddle. "That's for Eaglefoot."

Tommy took the saddle and waited for Jason to get his. _'This is gonna be fun,'_ he thought. _'Hope Jase does okay. For that matter, hope I don't screw up!'_

Jason raised an eyebrow when David handed him the same set up. "Hope you're gonna show me how to do this."

Grinning David grabbed his own tack. "Yeah, I'll show you. Let me show you where to put your stuff and you can watch me saddle Jump. Then I'll help you with Dakota."

"I might need a little help too," Tom said in a sheepish voice. "You know, just to make sure I've got everything tight enough. All I need is to fall off that big guy."

He grinned at his brother. "I'll double check everything before I let you get on, I promise." He winked. "Don't need you going back to your friends all bruised up and them thinking that I was torturing my little brother." He led them back into the barn and showed Jason where to stow his stuff before going over to the herd stallion.

"Appreciate that. One more head injury and I'm done, I think." A strange look washed across Tommy's face after he'd said that-he just turned and carried his saddle back to where Eaglefoot was waiting.

Looking across at Jason, David found himself sharing a concerned glance. He made a mental note to talk to the teen about it. "Yeah well, Sam would have my hide if either of you got hurt anyway."

Jason chuckled softly, relieving some of the tension that had sprouted up at Tommy's statement. "He does strike me as the type that'd find a way to get even."

"Oh yeah, and not in the ways you might expect," David remarked, walking in the same direction that Tommy had gone.

Tommy had put the saddle pads on Eaglefoot and was almost ready to sling the saddle on his back when he turned to his brother. "Am I doing this right?"

Walking around Jump, David walked over to his brother. He checked the saddle pads, then nodded. "Yeah, you're doing fine. Keep it up while I finish helping your 'stud'." He winked at his brother and walked back over to Jason.

Tom had to grin. Jason was quite the stud at that. "Okay Eaglefoot, boy...stay still for me, alright? I'm not all that great at this yet," he directed to the big stallion, hoping that he understood.

Jason blushed hard, but didn't say anything as he watched David saddle the big stallion. When the girth had been tightened, the teen looked at his boyfriend's brother. "I think I've got it, but I want you to watch me."

Nodding, he walked with Jason. "No problem. Just take your time."

For his part, Tommy was doing pretty well. His mount was cooperating and that helped greatly, considering his inexperience. "Okay boy, almost done," he said, reaching up to pat Eaglefoot.

It took Jason a few tries, but he finally got the gelding saddled correctly and he grinned over at Tommy. "Well, that wasn't that bad."

David chuckled softly. "That was just the saddle. I'll bridle Dakota for you, so you can just watch." He picked up the bridle and tossed the reins over Dakota's head before grabbing hold of the crown piece and bit. The gelding opened his mouth willingly and took the bit without fuss as David slid the bridle over the horse's poll and around the left ear. A quick adjustment to the throat latch and he patted the gelding's neck. "All done."

"So David, what do you do if they don't wanna open their mouths for you?" Tommy asked.

Chuckling softly, he grinned at his brother. "Stick your finger in the corner of their mouth and rub their tongue."

"Really? That works?" he answered. "Have to try that on Jase there," he laughed, giving his boyfriend a wink.

He shook a finger at his boyfriend. "Keep it up and I won't give you any of the baklava Mom gave me to bring up."

"Oh no fair! Threatening me with baklava. That's hitting below the belt," the Ranger Commander replied.

The Gold Ranger grinned and shrugged. "All's fair in love and war." He winked and took hold of the lead rope David handed him.

"And food, apparently," Tommy added.

While the two teens had been talking, David had finished up with his horse and tied the lead rope for both Jump and Dakota around their necks for when they stopped for lunch. It was safer to use the lead ropes instead of the bridle. "You get Eaglefoot's bridle okay?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did it right. Eaglefoot's easy, though. You did such a good job training him...well, all of them, really."

"It took a while, about six months each to get a really good foundation on them. Of course, there's always something new you can try to teach them, too." He grinned and helped Tommy tie the lead around the stallion's neck. "So you boys ready to get out of here?"

"Umm David, will you check to make sure I've got everything tight enough and put on right? I don't wanna hurt Eaglefoot and I definitely don't wanna fall off," Tom requested, unsure of his saddling skills.

"Let's lead them outside first. Then I'll double check all of our tack before I help you two mount up and we can get going."

Jason nodded. "Works for me."

Both young men led their mounts outside, following behind David. "Think you're gonna enjoy this?"

The burly teen nodded. "Oh yeah. And thanks to Sam and the Powers, my leg's a lot better. So yeah, I'm going to enjoy this."

David ground tied Jump and walked back over to the two teens. "All right, Tommy. Let's get you up on Eaglefoot first." He made short work of checking the girth, saddle, breast collar and bridle. When he was satisfied, he nodded at his brother. "All right, let's get you up."

"So I did a decent job? Wow." Tommy then put one foot in a stirrup and, hanging onto the horn pulled himself up and swung his other leg over.

Jason watched as his boyfriend grabbed hold of the reins and some of the thick mane in his left hand and the far side of the horn with the other. After his left foot was in the stirrup, it seemed like a couple bounces and small jump had his partner in the saddle with ease. "Dang bro, you made that look easy."

David helped his brother adjust the stirrups, then put a hand on his knee. "You did good, Falcon. Now get used to Eaglefoot again while I help Jason get up and settled on Dakota."

Less than ten minutes later, Jason and David were mounted. The Original Red Ranger had been given instructions in how to steer and stop the gelding, plus how to get him to go. After they were all settled, David grinned. "I'll lead, then Jason will follow me and Tommy I want you to bring up the rear."

"Alright, will do," Tommy said. "Let's go!"

With a grin, Jason slid the horse into line behind David's, keeping a bit of distance so that he could see the rear feet of the herd boss. "This will definitely be something to tell the others about."

"Yeah, I think we're gonna have a lot of fun. Just do what David tells you and you won't have any problems. He really knows what he's doing," Tom said, showing some of the pride he had in his big brother.

"I'm realizing that." Jason settled into the saddle a bit more and started to relax, moving with the rhythm of the horse's gait.

The boys finally made it to their destination-a nearby cave that contained a hot spring. David dismounted first and then held Dakota while Jason swung down from the saddle. The elder brother decided to let Tommy get down by himself, but he kept a close watch. Once everyone was back on the ground, David showed them the best way to tie up the horses.

Jason stretched his legs a bit and looked around. "This is really cool."

"Yeah, it is. I don't think I've been out here before," Tommy added.

David grinned. "We went the other way when all of us went camping with the girls. We're actually closer to the back of the pasture than anywhere else." He nodded towards the cave. "The hot spring is part of the reason we don't really worry when we get the occassional bit of snow."

"I want a closer look at that hot spring. I didn't know there was one out here," Tommy said, pulling his pack down from Eaglefoot's saddle.

Chuckling softly, David handed Jason his bag before grabbing the one off of Dakota. "Like I'm going to show you everything in one time of coming out here." He winked at Jason. "Gotta save some stuff to keep you coming back."

The Ranger Commander turned and gave his brother a disapproving look. "Oh come on, like you have to entice me to come back. Once I have a little more freedom, you might wish you could get rid of me!" he chuckled and then turned back toward the cave.

"I doubt it." He grinned. "Spent too much time looking for your ass to get rid of it anytime soon."

Jason shook his head, chuckling softly as he started following his boyfriend. "Yeah, you're brothers all right."

Tommy moved closer to the spring and dipped his hand in. "Oh wow...this is almost like a hot tub!" He watched the steam rise off the warm water into the surrounding cool air. "Hey Jase, come look!"

Moving closer, the burly teen's eyes widened slowly. "Oh man, this is awesome." He looked back at David. "Thanks for bringing us here." Going down to stand next to Tommy, he grinned. "Too bad we didn't bring any trunks."

"Yeah...but now we know and we'll make good use of it during Spring Break," Tom said, slipping an arm around Jason's trim waist.

David snorted as he tossed the saddle bags to the ground. "Who needs trunks?" He opened one side of the bags and tossed each teen a towel. "Not shy are you?"

"Him?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow and pointing at Jason. "Mr. Exhibitionist? Please," he chuckled.

Jason rolled his eyes, but took the towel and set it aside, then started taking off his shoes. "This water is going to feel good."

"Sure is...let's get in," Tommy said, removing his jacket and starting on his shirt.

David chuckled softly and started stripping. When he had only his boxers left, he grabbed his towel and walked over to the edge of the pool. Shucking his boxers, he looked at the other two. "You guys are slow."

Rolling his eyes, Jason looked over at David. "Just because you're used to doing this." He chuckled softly for a moment while he ditched his own jeans. While he did that, he couldn't help but notice how similar the two brothers were and not just in the face. David wasn't as defined as Tommy, but at the same time the guy's body held no fat on it anywhere. He blushed slightly and shed his own boxers before easing into the water.

David wasn't the only one being given the once-over. As Jason stripped, Tommy couldn't help but watch. Even though he'd seen his boyfriend's body countless times, he still couldn't help but run his eyes up and down the Gold Ranger's nude body as he sunk himself into the warm water.

David didn't show it, but he'd caught Jason's gaze. It didn't bother the man that he'd been oggled by his brother's boyfriend. To him, it was a compliment that the teen found him worthy to look at.

Once they were settled, David grinned. He'd pulled the food bags closer before sinking into the warm water. "So, you guys want to eat now or wait a little bit?"

"I'd like to just soak for a bit myself. This feels so good on my back," the Ranger Commander said.

"Same here," Jason stated, soaking in the warmth. "Feels nice to just relax."

"Works for me. Just let me know when you get hungry."

"Any word on when you might be able to get on the tribal council?" Tom asked his big brother.

"I can become a member of the council this spring when I turn 21. Sam's looking forward to it since he'll be sponsoring me."

"Cool. I know you've been looking forward to that. Are there any other young people still on the council or have they left?"

"There's two or three that are going to stick around and join. Plus we've got about ten that are graduating this year from college that are required, since the tribe paid for their education, to come back and help out. Most of them wanted to return."

"Really? It seems like all I hear is that the young people are moving away, leaving only the older people to handle things. Glad to know that's not true here," Jason remarked.

"Yeah, but we're actually a little better off out here than in some places. So, with the tribe agreeing to pay for the education, like my associate's degree, it's easier for us to get a taste of what it's like out there and truly want to come back."

"You know, me and Jason were talking yesterday. I think I'd really love to live out here, at least for a little while," Tommy said, lowering himself further into the water.

"Well, if you want to, let me know. That goes for you too, Jason. There's a couple of places out here that you two could spend a few months in if you wanted to."

"Seriously? That would be great during the summer when we're home from college, you know, Tommy?"

The red Zeo ranger nodded. "Sure would. Would keep me from having to worry about going home, too. Are you talking about houses or apartments or what?"

"There's a couple of empty houses. One is right across from Sam and I. Technically Tom, if you want it, one of them could be yours. Even if you only lived in it a couple months out of the year."

Tommy's eyebrows went up to his hairline. "How's that? I don't have any money, ya know."

"You don't have to, Tom. As dad's son, you're entitled to it." He grinned at his brother. "One of them, particularly the one across from Sam, belonged to them. Since I live with Sam, I don't have a use for it."

The younger brother moved a little closer to David. "Now wait...you're telling me that there's a house on the res that I can have? And I don't have to pay for it or anything?" He looked from David to Jason and back. He really couldn't believe what he was hearing.

David nodded. "If you accepted it, you'd be required to pitch in on some things a couple times out of the year, but otherwise, you wouldn't pay anything." He grinned and shrugged. "Benefit of living on Federal land."

"At least there are a few benefits of having reservations. Guess that amounts to our 'trinkets and beads'."

"Somewhat." He grinned. "So if you want to, when we get back, I can show it to you."

"Yeah, I'd love to see it. What do you think about all this, Jason?" Tom asked, settling down beside his boyfriend.

"I'm a little stunned, but I think it's great." He looked at his partner. "And it gives you a piece of your past to hold onto."

Nodding, Tommy rubbed Jason's arm. "And it would give us a place too. Can you imagine? Us having our own house?"

"Not really. It's a lot to take in, but I definitely want to see it." He chuckled softly. "Just don't tell Adam and Carlos."

"Yeah...don't wanna turn it into a Ranger Love Shack!" Tommy laughed.

David shook his head, grinning. "No, that might draw more than a little attention. Sam and I have kept it up, so there's no major repairs that need to be made. There isn't any furniture in it except for the kitchen table and benches, but those were handmade."

"Well, we might be able to get some secondhand furniture for it without too much trouble. Mom probably knows where," Jason replied.

"Yeah, that'd be great. We could use it this summer before we go off to college...wherever that ends up being," Tommy said.

After the boys had eaten their lunch and were relaxing for a bit longer before starting their ride back, Tommy leaned over and kissed Jason softly on the lips and gave him a hug. "Ummm David...does this bother you? We'll quit if it does."

Sighing softly, he shook his head at Tommy. "No, but I really want you two to be careful."

"We will, no worries there," Jason replied.

"Yeah, don't worry about that. By the way, at the Christmas party, you said something that I didn't understand. Remember when you suggested that we use our rings as promise rings?"

Blushing a bit, he nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"After that, you said something like, 'Be careful, promise me.' What did you mean?"

"I just don't want you two to get found out before you're ready. That, and I want you two to be safe when you start to have sex."

"Well, you really don't need to worry about us being safe, because believe me...with all of the tests and scans that Alpha runs on us on a regular basis, there is no way that either of us could have anything and not know about it. Now as for being found out..." Tommy broke off.

"Like I said, just be careful. From what I've learned about male-male sex, there's a lot higher chance that something can go wrong."

"We'll be careful, we promise. I am worried that my mom suspects, though," Tommy answered.

"You know that if things get too bad for you, that you'll have a place to stay here if you need it. I'll even come get you if I have to."

Jason nodded. "I've told him the same thing."

Tommy sighed and looked between his brother and his boyfriend. "I really appreciate it, guys. I'm hoping that things won't go to hell before I can graduate and get outta there."

Nodding, the Gold Ranger slipped an arm around his partner's shoulders. "Just making sure you know we're here if you need us, Tom."

"Yeah, I know. I just wanna get through high school and go to college with you-get outta Angel Grove."

David nodded. "I can understand wanting to get out of the city for a while. Once you two graduate, come spend a bit of time out here before you have to go to college."

"Oh yeah, we definitely will. I just hope that some decision is made about the whole ranger thing before long. Zordon promised us that we would be able to go off to college like normal people."

"We might have to bring it up to him again as the time gets closer," Jason stated, sinking down a bit in the water and rolling his shoulders.

"Yeah, I mean...I know what we're doing is important. I would like to have a normal life at some point though," Tommy said.

"I don't blame either one of you." David looked at his brother. "You said that you've been doing this since you were what, fifteen? That's a long time to go without being 'normal', especially for a teenager."

"I was telling Jason the other day that our idea of normal and other people's idea of normal are two completely different things," he laughed.

Jason grinned. "He does have a point. Our normal is so off from other people's that it's not funny."

"I can see how fighting in giant metal robots against magical beings would skew your version of normal."

"No kiddin'," Tommy chuckled.

After the horses had been taken care of and returned to the pasture, David led the two teens to the house across from Sam's. Reaching up above the frame, he pulled down a key and wiped it off before putting it into the lock. With a grin, he looked at his brother. "Well, this is it." He pushed the door open and led the way into the house.

Jason followed Tommy into the house and they both looked around at the modest, but well-built house. Like David had mentioned, the only furniture there was a big kitchen table and chairs, but you could tell they were craftsman-made and sturdy.

"How long has it been empty, Dave?" Tommy asked, still looking around.

Jason thought it was a great little house and it'd be a nice place for the two of them, but he was trying not to influence his boyfriend in any way-this was a family matter, after all.

"It's been empty for about a year. There was an older couple living in it, but their son moved them closer to his place on the other side of the Res. So the table was made by Dad and since it was here when they moved in, it got left. Sam and I have re-sanded it and stained it to clean it up a little. We also re-did the mantle and doorframes."

Tommy walked over and ran his hand slowly over the table. "Dad made this?" he asked in a quiet voice after a few moments. The young man seemed completely lost in thought as he touched something that the father that he'd never known had made.

Nodding, David watched his little brother. "Yeah, Sam said that the entire time mom was pregnant with me, he would spend hours working on the table and then the two benches. He did the mantle shortly after I was born. Think Sam still has some pictures of him working on the table."

"Really? Wow...I'd love to see 'em," he remarked, still running his hand over the contours of the thing that his dad had spent so much time working on and touching. It somehow made him feel closer to the man. "David?" he asked, suddenly looking up into his brother's face. "Do you have a scanner?"

Jason had been watching his partner closely, but stayed quiet. Being in this house and so close to things that the man's father had made was having a profound effect on the Ranger Commander-what kind of effect remained to be seen.

"Yeah, I've got a scanner at the house. I had to get a computer system to keep track of the breeding records and pedigrees for the herd." He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I want a copy of every picture you can lay your hands on of our family-Mom and Dad, Sam, you, our grandparents...all of 'em. I need to be able to look at them and know that they're my family...that I really belong to somebody," he said, a single tear running down his cheek. He took a seat on one of the benches and continued to look up into his older brother's eyes.

Sighing softly, David walked over and took a seat beside his brother and wrapped his arms around the younger man. "You always belong to someone, Falcon. Never doubt that. You've got Sam and I here, plus a couple of sorta cousins. You have family here…roots, and I wish to the Gods that we could have found you sooner so that you would know this as deep and true as I do."

"I believe you...it's just that it's all so new to me that I'm still having trouble getting it into my head that it's real. I spent so many years wondering what my real family was like and where they were and stuff that...well, when I finally found you, it didn't seem real."

"This is all very real. Just like Jason is real to you." He gave his little brother another squeeze, then sat back a bit to wipe at the tears marring the face that was so like his. "And this house is real. It belongs to you now and will be here for you when you're ready to live in it. Doesn't matter if it's a few months from now or ten years from now, it'll be here waiting on you."

Jason walked over and sat down on the other side of Tommy, not wanting to intrude on the brothers' moment, but needing to silently lend his support.

"But David...what if you decide you want it? As the older brother, you have dibs, right? What if you decide to get married? I can't take this house from you," Tommy said, laying a hand on Jason's thigh to let him know he appreciated the closeness.

"Tommy, if I decide to get married and if it happens to be Alicia, we'll move in with Sam. He's not old," He grinned. "Least if you ask him, he's not, but he is starting to get up there a bit. Besides that, we've already been talking about expanding his place a bit and since it's closer to the barn it makes more sense for me to stay there." He looked into his brother's eyes. "Aside from all of that, you're not taking anything from me. I'm giving it to you because I want you to have it."

Tom thought about that for a minute and then nodded. "Well...okay, if you put it like that. But you've gotta promise me that if you decide that you want or need to move in here, you will."

"I promise, but if you want it, this is your place now."

Jason smiled and squeezed his lover's thigh. "Not every day someone gives you a house, huh?" Turning to David, he smiled warmly in thanks for what he was doing.

"No, definitely not," Tom smiled. "Still can't wrap my head around all this," he said and got up, inspecting the house he'd just been gifted with. "I just can't believe this." He wandered about, running his hand up and down the doorframes and woodwork until he came to the mantle. He looked it over in detail, letting his hands trail across his father's handiwork.

David watched him, then turned to Jason and grinned. "You know, if he likes the mantle, then he'll really love the wardrobe Dad gave Mom when they got married." He nodded his head towards the back. "It's in the bedroom. Sam and I moved it back over here because we really didn't have the room for it."

"You wanna go lead his ass back there? I think he's still pretty stunned."

"Why don't you do it and I'll follow you two." He put a hand on the teen's shoulder. "You know that you're as welcome here as Tommy is."

Jason smiled and nodded. Walking over to Tommy, he placed his hands on the man's trim waist and rested his chin on a shoulder. "Hey, I hear there's something in the bedroom that you might like to see," he said in a soft, gentle voice.

Laying his hands on top of his partner's, Tommy leaned his head back a bit to rest on Jason's shoulder. He sighed softly. "Not sure how much more I can take today."

"Well this is a good thing that I think you'll really appreciate-come on, David'll show us." Together they moved back through the house until they reached the wall of the bedroom where Sam and David had placed the large, handmade wardrobe.

David stepped up behind the teens and put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Dad gave this to Mom as their wedding present. Sam told me that it took him almost a year to get it right." He walked over to the wardrobe and opened one of the doors. On the inside was an inset photo of the couple with the date of their wedding carved beneath it.

Tommy's eyes grew wider and his mouth fell open a bit. He turned his head to look at David briefly before reaching out a shaky hand to touch the photo.

David gave his brother's shoulder a squeeze. "I'll be over at Sam's. Give you two some time here. When you're ready, come on over."

Jason and Tommy both nodded at the older man and the Gold Ranger watched him go while his boyfriend continued to stare at the picture. Once they were alone, Jason resumed his position behind Tommy and looked over his shoulder. "Wow...that's really your parents on their wedding day...how awesome," Jason whispered.

"Yeah...it's...incredible," Tommy said, very much in stunned disbelief. After about a minute or so, he spoke again. "I've seen them before, you know."

"Oh? From a picture?" He continued to hold his boyfriend close, knowing that today was going to be emotional for him.

"No...I've seen them, Rex. I don't know if it was a dream or what, but...they looked just like that...without the wedding clothes."

"Maybe you can talk to Sam about it." He looked at the photo. "You know, you have your dad's face but your mother's eyes."

"I think I do need to talk to him. Remember the whole thing with me 'seeing' my great-great grandfather? This is sorta the same thing."

"I'm sure talking to him will help then." He sighed softly. "So what do you think, Mr. Homeowner?"

Tommy grinned. "It's weird. Like I told David, I can't believe this is real. I'm standing in a house that my dad built. My parents actually lived here. It's gonna take a while for all of this to filter into my head." He paused and turned to look into Jason's face. "So I'm probably gonna drive you nuts about it," he smiled.

"I think I can live with that." He leaned in and kissed his lover softly. "Especially when it means that you have something you can hold onto."

Running his hand down Jason's thick bicep, Tommy gazed at him. "I've had something solid to hold onto for a while now," he smiled. "But you're right, this house grounds me and makes me feel more connected with my real family. I'm so glad we came out here on this trip. What a Christmas present!"

"Well, I've always been here for you Tom, but the one thing I couldn't give you is a connection to your heritage. David and Sam were able to do that." He pulled the other teen into his chest and held him close. "I'm glad you like it."

"Let's get back over to Sam's place. I've got lots of questions for that man," Tommy said. After they walked out the front door and made sure it was locked behind them, the two young men started across the street to the house where Tommy's birth family lived. More than once, the red Zeo ranger turned and looked back at the house that was now his. "Incredible," he mumbled.

Jason chuckled softly and took hold of a hand. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's not a dream, Falcon."

That evening at dinner, Tommy was anxious to talk to Sam but didn't want to be rude. "Ummm Sam...you think it'd be okay if I talked to you about some things? About my parents?"

The Elder nodded. "I have been waiting for you to ask me about that which troubles you."

"You knew?" Tommy asked. "Well of course you knew. Don't know why that surprised me. Anyway, David showed us the wardrobe that Dad made and the picture that was inside. As soon as I saw it..." he stopped and tried to put his thoughts into words. "...it was like with Great-Great Grandpa Thomas. I know that I've seen them before...but I couldn't have. Am I remembering a dream?"

"That would depend upon the time that you believe that you saw them."

"I have no idea when it was. Besides, it doesn't seem like a dream. They were about the same age as they were in the picture-they both had on white-so did I. I remember them talking to me and hugging me-I remember them talking about David. That's about it," he said, a confused look on his young face.

David grinned slightly. "He means where were you when you had the dream. Were you at home, in the hospital, that kind of stuff."

"Like I said, I have no clue. I don't remember waking up and thinking about this. Little things seem to bring it to mind though. I usually remember my dreams fairly well, but...not this one."

"Then it is likely that during the time when you hovered between this world and the next, your parents presented themselves to you in order to help you make your choice between life and death."

That statement seriously shocked Tommy. "You mean when I was in the coma in the hospital...that I...that they...oh God," he said, holding his head in his hands.

Jason reached over and rubbed his partner's back soothingly. "It's okay, bro. You're fine now. Apparently your folks did what they set out to do."

Sighing softly, David reached out a hand and rested it on one of his brother's. "Tommy, when Jason finally got out to us here on the Res and told us what had happened, they weren't giving you much of a chance of ever waking up. I thought we were going to have to bury you before Sam and me ever got to really know you." He gave the hand in his a squeeze. "Things were that close, Falcon."

Tommy couldn't say anything. He shook his head a little and just thought about what he'd been told. If what Sam had said was true, or even possible, the parents that he'd never known came to him in a vision and helped him find his way back toward consciousness...and life. But was it true? Could it be that he'd just seen a picture of them and it had worked itself into a dream? He didn't know. This was all too much for him to process.

"You have not grown up in our ways, young Falcon, and are still learning how to leave the nest in the world which has raised you. The land is a part of you. Therefore, your parents are a part of you. It matters not that you have no memory of them. They are forever a part of you."

Every time Jason was with Tommy when the subject of his parents was brought up, the Gold Ranger came away with a better appreciation of his own home life. He made a mental note once again to kiss, hug, and be more loving to his own folks.

"I just wish I had some memory of them-even a good picture in my mind would be nice. I don't know why life has to be so damn unfair," Tom complained.

"Because you were destined to be a protector. Your time may end, but it will not be forever. Destiny has more in store for you. David will give you pictures of your parents, so that you may get to know their faces." He reached over and tapped the teen's chest. "But their memory already lives here." He moved his hand up and tapped Tommy in the temple. "And here. Each breath you take is one that you take for them and for yourself. To carry on in life is the best way to remember them forever."

Everyone at the table smiled-they couldn't help themselves. Jason wanted to say something like, 'Wow, that's deep', but he had better manners than to ruin this moment with such a comment. As for Tommy, he found himself being thankful that, even though he didn't have his Mom and Dad around, he had real family that cared about and understood him. "Thanks Sam. That means a lot to me." He turned and looked at his brother. "And I'm sure it does to David, as well."

David was quiet for a moment as he nodded, then he looked at his uncle. "Damn Sam, you really hit the heart on that one."

The old man grinned. "You may be learning from me, Mustang, but not everything have I taught you."

"I don't think I could live long enough to learn everything from you," Tommy said to his uncle. "Listening to you makes me feel like such a know-nothing child," he smiled.

Again, the old man grinned. "What I have learned and can teach is different from the knowledge which you carry and can pass on, young Falcon. Like your mate the Puma, your knowledge lies in how to defend that which you care for or hold dear. That requires a far greater strength than what many much older than you could hope to have."

Jason was still trying to get used to being called 'Puma' and he grinned every time that Sam said it. He was also amazed at how matter-of-factly the old man called him Tommy's mate-like it didn't bother him at all and he even seemed pleased about it. _'Man, I wish more people were as open and understanding as he is,'_ he thought. "Well, I can tell you this about Falcon here: he's one of the fiercest fighters I've ever come across-powers or not. And it's not all training because I've been trained in martial arts all my life as well. His strength and fire comes from somewhere else," Jason said, rubbing his boyfriend's back.

Tommy turned and gave Jason a small smile and then looked back at his uncle.

Sam nodded. "His father was a fierce fighter as well. He had to be in order to win the heart of their mother."

"So basically what he's saying is that you shouldn't mess with the Trueheart brothers, right Tommy?" David said with a big grin.

"You know that's right," the young falcon said, returning the big smile.

Chuckling softly, Jason shook his head at the pair.

"Just remember that not all fights can be won with the body. You must develop and train your mind to fight just as well."

"Hmmm...that could be a problem. My mind is a little...unreliable, shall we say. I don't have the mental capacity of Jason and David here. I think I'm just barely average, as a matter of fact. Good thing I can fight, huh?" Tommy said, taking a drink of his tea.

Jason immediately shook his head in a disapproving way. "Stop that! That's something that that bitch of a woman has made you believe," he said, the anger evident in his voice. "Pardon my language, Sam."

Frowning, the Elder reached out and lightly slapped the teen in the back of the head. "Do not let the poison of the woman who denies you your true heritage to stay with you." He nodded at Jason. "The young Puma is correct. You are much stronger than you give yourself credit for mentally as well as your physical body."

David was quiet for several moments, then he looked at his brother. "That woman that raised you doesn't know anything about you, Tom. She has it in her head that you're never going to be anything and she's making it her mission in life to have you believing that. Don't let that dirty slut win." He looked over at his uncle. "Sorry Sam, but it's the truth."

Jason couldn't help himself. Before he knew what was happening he'd burst out laughing and extended his hand to David. "Thank you. I'm glad to know someone else agrees with me."

The older man shook Jason's hand. "No problem. I'm just glad you can be there for Tommy when I can't."

"I guess what you're all saying is true-I don't know. Maybe once I get away from that house I'll find out who I really am and what I'm really capable of," Tommy said.

Snorting, the older brother looked at him. "Thomas James Trueheart, don't let me ever hear you doubt yourself like that again or I will show you what a big brother is really supposed to do for his little brother."

David had such a menacing yet mischievous tone to his voice, Tommy couldn't help but smile. "Oh boy...I knew there was a downside to this whole big brother/little brother thing."

Jason leaned forward and rested his chin on his fist. With an evil grin, he asked the older Trueheart brother, "What wouldja do, hmmm?"

He returned the grin. "I'm thinking that maybe pinning him to the floor and tickling his sides until he can't breathe sounds like a good idea. That or you can hold him and I'll tickle his feet."

"Awww, hell no..." Tommy said, suddenly getting up and moving away from the table, being careful not to turn his back on the two of them. "I'd hate to have to kick both of your butts right here and now."

Jason gave David a look and they simultaneously got up and started slowly toward the Ranger Commander. "He thinks he's big stuff," Jason remarked.

Sam shook a finger at them. "Just remember that if anything is broken in here, then tomorrow will find the pigs with a very clean home."

"We'll be careful, Sam," David stated, giving his uncle a wink and grin. Turning his head, he looked over at Jason. "High or low?"

"You're taller, you go high-I'll go low," the Gold Ranger said, the corners of his mouth curling up into his trademark troublemaker grin. "You're in trouble now, O Fearless Leader."

Tommy saw that Jason was probably right and, sensing his opportunity, turned and bolted for the door, clearing most of the porch with one long stride. A childish grin crossed his face as he ran across the back yard, looking for a place to temporarily hide from his pursuers.

David laughed. "Follow him and I'll head around and cut him off." Running through the rest of the house, David bolted out the back door and easily cleared the remainder of the porch before slowing to stalk his 'prey'.

In no time at all, Tommy had managed to vault the pasture fence and make it to a rather large haystack that was nearby. Breathing heavily, he ducked behind it and waited.

Jason had caught a glimpse of his lover just as he had reached the hay. _'Uh huh...there he is...thinks he can hide from us,'_ he thought. As David came around the corner of the house, Jason silently indicated Tommy's hiding place. From different directions they slowly closed in on the red Zeo ranger.

David grinned as he watched his brother focus in on Jason. Sneaking up closer, he shouted out to his brother when he was just a few feet away. "Falcon!"

When Tommy turned his head suddenly to look at the quickly approaching David, Jason lunged forward and grabbed his partner, commander, and friend. Once Jason had him, David grinned wickedly and piled in too, the three of them free-falling into the haystack.

Once in the hay, Jason started tickling the unprotected sides. "Thought you were gonna get away, huh?"

"Ah! Stop!" Tommy yelled, trying to mount a defense but failing miserably against those particular adversaries. "This isn't fair!"

Chuckling softly, David grinned. "Who said we had to fight fair?" He grabbed a handful of hay and stuffed it down his brother's shirt.

"No! That stuff itches! Stop!" he pleaded, unable to keep himself from laughing.

Jason had meanwhile inserted some hay in Tommy's pants. "You wanted a roll in the hay, didn't you? Didn't you?" he demanded, still tickling his boyfriend.

"Okay, okay...yes, I did!"

Laughing, David finally sat back a bit and pushed his hair back. "Feeling better, Fal?"

Tommy quirked an eyebrow at him, still breathing hard. "Fal, huh? Yeah, I'm better...'Stang."

Jason grinned at them both and took a seat, breathing hard as well.

Grinning, David nodded at his little brother. "How's the hip? Was gonna ask you after the ride, but we kind of got sidetracked."

"It's better-much better, actually." Turning to Jason, Tommy gently touched his thigh. "How's your leg?"

"Still a little colorful, but it doesn't hurt anymore, which is a good thing."

David nodded, then was quiet for a few moments. Raising his head again, he met his brother's eyes. "When I was putting the poultice on last night, I noticed a few scars. Saw some more today at the hot springs." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You get all of those from being a ranger?"

"Umm...no. Some are from martial arts," Tommy said, his tone suddenly changing.

Jason sighed and rubbed his partner's arm. "You need to tell him, Babe."

"Tom, I'm not going to think any different of you, but I'd like to know what the rest are from."

"Well..." he began, dropping his gaze to the ground, "...my dad, I mean Mister Oliver, gave me some of them. He used to hit me when he was drunk."

Sighing softly, David moved closer to his brother and wrapped his arms around him. "Never be afraid of telling me the truth, Falcon. It's not going to change how I feel about you. You're my brother, kiddo, and you'll find it kind of hard to get rid of me."

Tom nodded. "Good to know, bro."

Jason was aware of two scars that neither ranger duties, martial arts, nor an abusive father put on his partner's body-the matching ones on his wrists. He wished that Tommy would come clean and tell his older brother about the suicide attempts, but right now, that door might be better off left closed. He'd tell him eventually, Jason thought.

He held his brother for a few more moments, then let him go. "Didn't mean to bring you down, but I was curious."

(scene change)

"So it's settled. Me and Jase will be out here for Spring Break and we'll do the quest," Tommy said, after taking a drink of his tea. "But before that we have New Year's Eve coming up. You're still coming to Adam's party, right?" he asked his big brother.

David was quiet for a moment. "I want to, but it's a long drive to make and then turn around to come back after the ball drops."

"We were talking about that," Jason said, indicating his boyfriend. "I'd love for you to come and stay over at my house after the party. Tommy's going to and we've got plenty of room."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to put you out or anything."

"Oh please. Yeah, I'm sure," Jason answered, giving the man a nod.

"Hey! I've got an idea. Why don't you come back with us tomorrow and stay two nights? We can find some stuff in Angel Grove to keep us busy," Tom suggested.

For a moment, he thought about it, then nodded. "Works for me. I just have to let Sam know."

"Cool." Tommy suddenly got an evil grin on his face. "You can come home with me for a while before we go to Jase's."

"Oh, that'll be delightful," Jason quipped.

David grinned at Jason. "Ah, let 'em say something to me."

Tommy grinned wider. "I dare 'em..."

"You want me around too or just you two?" the Gold Ranger asked.

"Why don't you drop us off for an hour or so and then come back? That should be enough time to get on her nerves all good and proper," Tom answered.

"It's up to you," the older brother stated. "Would be interesting to see how Mrs. Oliver, especially, reacts to all three of us being there." He grinned, liking Tommy's idea.

"Oh yeah, we'll be sure to hang out in the kitchen or den just so we can be in her sight," he chuckled.

Shaking his head at his brother, David grinned. "I'll make sure to cook something for us then. See what she thinks of that."

"May as well use her kitchen-she doesn't much," the Ranger Commander replied. "Anyway, we'll have a good time-go by the Youth Center, hang out with the guys, stuff like that. And you'll like Adam's parents."

"Oh yeah-the Parks are great," Jason added.

"Well, Adam seems cool enough." He chuckled softly. "Thought he was gonna rip Kat a new one at the party."

Finding that funny, Jason let out a laugh. "Oh yeah, Adam's getting bolder and bolder the older he gets. Tommy says he was much quieter when he first moved to Angel Grove."

"He was! Now he's gettin' all up in people's faces and stuff! It's great!" Tommy laughed.

"When I first met Tommy, Adam was still a bit quiet. Since the accident though, yeah, he's gotten a bit bolder."

"Well, I don't think we have to worry about Kim or Kat showing up at this party," Tom remarked.

"Yeah, probably a good thing. Since it's Adam's place, I can see him tossing them both out without giving it a second thought."

"Actually, Adam told us a couple days ago that he made a point of telling his mom that neither of them were invited so if she sees them not to say anything," Jason giggled. "To avoid the mistake that my mom made."

Tommy shook his head. "Mama didn't mean to do anything wrong-I don't blame her for anything."

David chuckled softly. "Yeah, I can't see your mom meaning to do that, Jase. Just doesn't seem like she's the type. And I honestly don't blame Adam for telling his mom they weren't invited."

"But it should be a great party and you know how disappointed Alicia would be if she didn't get to spend New Year's Eve with you," Tommy said with a grin.

Blushing hard, he looked at his younger brother.

"Hope Adam invited her. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to call her and do it."

"So tell me, how're things goin' with you two?" Tom asked, sporting a smile and a cocked eyebrow.

Jason leaned over from his place beside his partner and placed a light kiss on the man's cheek. "You're being nosey," he whispered.

Tommy only nodded.

"It's good." He blushed again. "Waiting for her birthday to really do much more than kiss or go to the movies." He grinned. "Want to take her on a ride to see some of the caves."

"Her dad threaten you or something?" Jason asked with a grin.

"Something like that. Made sure that I was aware of her age when we first started dating and he's got the number here and at the store up the road."

"Wow. What makes him think you'd do anything improper with his daughter?" Tom querried and paused for a moment. Before David could even formulate an answer, Tom added, "Of course, if I had a daughter and she was going out with someone a few years older, I might be that way too."

Jason nodded. "Hell, if you had a son that was going out with someone like you, you'd be worried...and rightfully so." He wasn't a bit surprised when Tommy nodded in agreement and planted a kiss firmly on his lips.

"And I think it's the age thing with me being a few years older that makes him worry. Plus the fact that I live outside of town." He grinned. "Although he did compliment me on the arrowhead necklace I wear." Shaking his head at the two teens, he laughed softly. "Yeah well, I wouldn't let my daughter or son date anyone like you two hooligans either."

"Hooligans? Us?" Tom asked, an angelic look on his face.

"Oh please. I've heard of some of the pranks you've pulled on Rocky. Not to mention the fake spider Jason put in his friend's bag." He laughed softly at the looks on their faces. "What? I've talked a bit with Adam."

"Uh huh...Mr. Second-In-Command's been runnin' his mouth, huh?" Jason asked. "We'll fix him."

"Sure will. You wait till the party..." Tom replied.

"You hurt the Frog and I'll sic Ali on you two. After the picture Carlos gave her, I wouldn't want to mess with her."

"Scared of your little girlfriend, are ya there, Dave?" Jason prodded.

"Hey, she's got nails dude. Plus Ali's not afraid of standing up to anyone."

"I'll bet she's cute when she's mad," Tom grinned. "As a matter of fact, she's cute when she's not," he said, giving his boyfriend a nudge.

"Best not be thinking of poaching my girlfriend, little brother. Would hate to have to give you another big brother lesson."

"Look, just because I'm on a diet doesn't mean I can't look at the menu, bro. She's one heck of a Chemistry partner," he replied, trying to get a rise out of his brother.

Snorting, David shook a finger at his brother. "Keep it up and I'll tell Mrs. Scott to not give you any baklava for a month."

(scene change)

Pulling into the Scotts' driveway, Tommy and Jason waited a moment for David to pull up behind them. He had followed them back to Angel Grove and over to the Gold Ranger's house. "So you're gonna come over in about an hour, right?" Tommy asked.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, figure I'll go in and talk to Mom for a bit. Help her get the guest room ready for David." They'd called Mrs. Scott the day before to confirm it was okay for David to stay for a couple of nights.

"Cool," he answered and then got a wide grin on his face. "This should be interesting." Ever since David had agreed to their plan, Tommy had been wondering how it was going to play out. How was his mom going to react? David had been to the house before-just after Tom was released from the hospital, but this wasn't a sick call.

"Just don't make too many waves," he grinned. "And try to stay out of trouble for an hour?"

"Who, me? Are you insinuating that I would purposely cause trouble?" the Ranger Commander asked, his halo slipping a little. Giving his boyfriend a big smile and a kiss when he was sure no one was watching, he hopped out of the car and pulled his duffle bag from the back seat. "See you in about an hour," he said, heading toward David's truck.

Jason nodded and then waved to his partner, watching him climb into his older brother's truck. _'So cute when he's in a mood,'_ he thought and headed toward the house.

David shook his head as his brother climbed in. "You ready to go watch some eyes pop out of heads?"

"Oh yeah, I just hope she's home. Would completely ruin the surprise if the house is empty," he laughed.

"Oh, no doubt. But it'll be nice to hang out with you anyway."

"Yeah. You can see where I hung my dreamcatcher." An unpleasant thought ran through his mind. "It better still be there," he growled.

"Very true." He backed out of Jason's drive and started towards his brother's house. "If it's not, then I'll demand to know why she threw out a present that I gave you and if she has a problem with me."

"In a confrontational mood, are we?" Tommy grinned. The rest of the way to his house they chatted about their plans for the next couple of days.

Reaching the Olivers' house, David parked in the driveway and was happy to see two cars plus his brother's truck sitting at the house. "Well, looks like they're here," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Yep," Tom chuckled. "Let's see how this goes." He got out of the truck and headed for the door, carrying his duffle bag.

Leaving his back in the truck, David got out and followed his brother. "Could be worse. One of them could have been home and called the other."

Coming through the front door, the brothers paused at the bottom of the stairs. "Mom! I'm home. You here?"

"In the dining room," she called back. "You alone?"

"No-David's with me. Got anything to eat?" he asked, starting toward the kitchen.

David followed his brother deeper into the house, then nodded at the woman who sat at the table. "Mrs. Oliver."

She had looked up in surprise when she heard the name and waited on the young men to appear in the doorway. "Umm...hi David. I didn't know you were coming."

"I came for the New Year's Eve party. Adam invited me."

"Yeah, so I invited him to come and stay an extra night. We're gonna hang out and do 'brother stuff'," Tom grinned, heading for the fridge.

Rolling his eyes, David grinned. "What exactly that is, I'm not sure, but it sounded like fun and Sam encouraged me to come along."

Margaret Oliver nodded. "I see. Well, I'm sure Tommy can think of something. He seems to find plenty to do to keep himself busy."

Watching his brother root around in the fridge, the elder chuckled softly. "Why don't I just make us something, Tom?"

"You want to?" Tommy asked. When David shrugged and nodded, he made a suggestion. "Why don't we wait for Jase to get here? Until then, we'll chill out in my room," he said, handing David a Gatorade.

"That'll work." He took the drink from his brother and nodded at the woman who was trying not to openly stare at him, then headed towards Tommy's room.

Slinging his bag on the floor, the ranger commander sat down with a bounce on his bed. "The look on her face was priceless!" he said, laying back and laughing. "And look, my dreamcatcher is still there." He pointed at the wall directly above his headboard.

Chuckling, he joined his brother on the bed. "Yeah, it really was. Almost wish I had a camera to get a picture so that we could've shown Jason." He looked around the room and shook his head. "Not really a lot of personal touches, are there?

"Hmmm? Oh, well...I can't seem to put anything up that she's totally okay with, so instead of having it ripped down, I just don't put it up. My trophies are all over there and I've put up a couple of pictures since you were here last."

"Still, I wish it didn't have to be like this for you." He met his brother's eyes. "We'll get together a couple of times before Spring Break. Get some ideas about what you want in the house and then see what we can do about getting it set up for you."

"Thanks, man. That really means a lot to me. It'll be so nice to know that I have somewhere to go if things melt down here."

Looking at his brother, he sighed softly. "You're my little brother, Tom. And I've missed out on a lot with you. So if I can do something like this to help you out, then I'll do it."

"I'm trying to keep the peace here," he said and then thought about the fact that he'd just brought someone into the house that his mother really didn't care for. "Well, most of the time I'm trying to keep the peace," he grinned. "I just stay gone or up here in my room as much as possible. If I can just make it until I graduate..."

"Well, anytime it gets to be too much for you and you need to get away, even if it's just for a few days, you're welcome to come out."

"Thanks, man. I might have to do that sometime. I gotta stay around here for the most part because I gotta finish school, but weekends and holidays...you might see me a lot."

"You're always welcome and Jason can come with you if you want."

"And this ranger thing...I know I'll miss it when it's over, but right now I just wanna turn in my morpher. I know it's an important job-especially with me being the commander and all, but...man, let someone else have the 'fun'," he groused.

Laughing softly, he looked at his brother. "Yeah well, I can see how you'd feel that way, especially with all that being the commander doesn't let you do."

"Well, one thing it does let me do is make command decisions. There's something I want to talk to you about later when Jase is here," Tommy said cryptically and left it at that.

The statement earned the teen a raised eyebrow. "Okay, no problem."

"But anyway, let me show you that I do have all of the stuff that you and Sam have given me," the former White Ranger said, getting up to go to his dresser. "I have to hide stuff, but it's all here." He pulled one side of the dresser away from the wall and reached behind it, retrieving a leather drawstring bag. Sitting back down on the bed, he pulled out the bone choker necklace that David had given him, plus various other pieces of jewelry and things. "This is the small stuff. The bigger stuff like the medicine wheel that Sam gave me in the hospital and the other dreamcatcher I have to hide in the closet.

David sighed. "I wish you didn't have to hide this stuff. That'll be one thing that you don't have to worry about once you are out of the house and your place on the Res will have some stuff for you as well."

Tommy smiled. "That'll be so great. I hate having to do this too, but..." he said, getting up to go put his stash back in its hiding place. Pulling open a drawer, he starting running his hand to the back to try and find something. Suddenly he stopped and opened another drawer and then another. "My stuff's been gone through again!" he said, an angry look crossing his face.

His brother frowned. "Is something missing? Because you know that I won't have a problem going down and confronting her about it."

"Hang on, let me see," he said, going to his closet and reaching behind the clothes to pull out yet another bag. "All of this stuff is still here, but...my stuff has definitely been gone through." He growled again. "You'd think I'd been convicted on drug charges and she's trying to find my stash."

"But the main thing is, is there anything missing? That's what I want to know at the moment."

"Not that I can tell-just moved around a bit. Wonder what she was looking for?"

"Don't know. You said that she saw the ring Jase gave you, maybe she was looking for something to disprove what you told her."

Tom nodded. "Yeah, that's possible-like maybe pictures or letters or something. I don't leave that stuff here-it's in my quarters at the Power Chamber."

"Probably a good place for it until you get out of here."

"Yep. Isn't it about time for Jase?" he asked, looking at his watch.

"Long as he doesn't have your talent for always being late, then yeah, it is," David grinned unrepentantly.

"Oh, ha ha," the younger brother said, looking out the window for Jason's car. "He has his faults too."

"I know he does. Sometimes his temper gets the best of him and he does a really good impression of a mother hen."

"Not to mention he's got a jealous streak a mile wide. He's managed to keep it in check so far, but we'll see how long that lasts. I mean, I'm not flirting with anybody anyway, but even when people-girls and guys-notice me, he's giving them dirty looks and stuff. I get the feeling he's gonna get possessive," Tommy said, giving his brother a look that said that he really needed to talk about this.

"Tommy, your relationship is still new, both with Jason and the fact that it's with another guy. For both of you, this is new territory. Aside from that, he almost lost you before he ever got the chance to be with you. So yeah, for a while he might be a little more prone to jealousy because of that."

Nodding, he sighed. "I know. And believe me, I don't want anybody else. It's great to know that the person I love loves me back that much-and he's willing to do almost anything to keep me. After being dropped like a bad habit, that's a great feeling. I just hope the jealousy doesn't get out of control and start to cause a problem. I can get a little green-eyed myself, ya know."

"I believe you about that. Maybe you two should sit down and talk some about it. Personally, I think part of the reason he's so jealous is because of Kat." He grinned at Tommy's raised eyebrow. "I've heard about how she'd hang on you and that kind of stuff."

"Yeah, she did. That is, until she found out I was bi and in love with a guy-ever since then she's treated me like I have the Black Death," he laughed. "Suits me." He shook his head and chuckled. "Funny you should mention Kat, because..." he broke off when he heard a car door shut. "That must be Jase."

Putting a hand on his brother's shoulder, David gave it a squeeze. "We can talk more later."

"Yeah, let's go get Jase," Tom said, heading for the door.

After making lunch and lots of noise downstairs, the boys retreated to Tommy's room to make plans for the next couple of days and to just talk. Afterwards, the three of them left and went to the Youth Center to hang out for a while before returning to the Scott house for the evening.

Next evening, Jason, Tommy, and David got ready for the party and then headed over to Adam's house. Almost everyone showed up for the party—those that were invited, anyway. Tanya and Billy were the only exceptions. Their Yellow Ranger had explained to Adam that while she did want to come, she felt out of place since everyone else had a date. She decided to spend the evening with Kat and Kim—sort of a girls' night out. Billy, the resident genius, was out of town on a research trip and wasn't due back for several days.

Looking around the living room from his place on the couch next to Jason, Tommy couldn't help but notice how happy everyone looked. Their host, Adam, was practically joined at the hip to his boyfriend, Carlos. That relationship was going well from what the Ranger Commander had been told. Older brother David seemed extremely content with Alicia and that made Tom very happy. _'She's a great girl—they're definitely good for each other.' _ Even good ol' Rocky had found someone. _'Look at him and Anna all cuddled up together…how cute,' _Tom thought as he gazed across the room at them. _'Most of my friends are happy and we're all healthy, so I guess we should all be thankful. It's been quite a year.'_

His mind began to wander back through some of the significant events of the year that was rapidly coming to an end. His and Adam's accident immediately jumped out at him. _'What a life-changing thing that was,'_ he thought. Tommy knew that without that near-fatal event, there was a very good chance that he and Jason would never have gotten together. _'Too bad we're so hard-headed that it took me nearly dying to make us talk,'_ he reflected, squeezing his partner's thigh a little and looking over into his face.

Jason returned the gaze. "You okay?" he asked, a bit concerned by how quiet Tommy had gotten.

"Yeah…just thinking. Can we go get some air?"

Jason tilted his head a bit, not sure if his boyfriend was really okay or not. "Ummm, yeah sure. How about out back?"

Tommy nodded and started getting up, pulling his partner with him. "We'll be right back," he told Adam when his second-in-command looked over at them questioningly.

So fifteen minutes or so before midnight, Tommy and Jason stepped out onto the back deck to spend a few minutes alone. The night was beautiful-clear and not too cold with thousands of stars in the sky. As they walked over to the railing, each wrapped an arm around the other. "Nice out here, isn't it?" Tommy asked as he put his drink down and stuck that hand into his jacket pocket.

"It's pretty, not so sure I'd call it nice temperature-wise." He blew into the air and was able to see his own breath. It was a definite cold spell for the area, but he actually liked it, especially given the season. "You didn't bring me out here to talk about the weather, though. You okay, babe?" Concern was evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I am…really. I love our friends, but I just wanted to steal a few minutes alone with you before the New Year starts. Anything wrong with that?" he asked, a warm smile crossing his face. Jason shook his head and smiled back. "Besides, I think it's nice out here. Has to have been colder than this in Switzerland."

"Yeah, but remember I didn't spend a lot of time there. When we first got there, there were so many meetings we had to go to about local laws, Conference rules, dorm curfews and regulations." He shook his head. "Then there were the classes we had to go to along with the democracy sessions that we attended, which is where we did all of the discussing of topics and stuff. Weekends were the only time that we had to ourselves, but even then we had stuff we had to work on for the next week. Think I was there a full month before I saw something outside of the Conference campus."

"Not exactly a vacation, was it?"

"No, and while I don't regret going, if I had realized how much work was actually going to be involved, I might have reconsidered putting in my application."

Tommy looked up again and thought for a minute. He knew how much Jason enjoyed the conference, despite what he said. He felt a little pang of guilt. "You ever regret leaving it?" he asked without looking at his boyfriend.

He was quiet for a moment, thinking about all he'd gotten to do while over there. Slowly he shook his head. "No, I don't. As much as I got to do and enjoyed it, I was starting to miss home, especially the closer it got to summer being over and the holidays coming up. There's no real season change over there and it's something that I missed. No beaches to walk on or oceans to swim in." He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Tommy's cheek. "No you."

A warm smile appeared on Tommy's face at that. "This may sound selfish, but I'm glad you didn't go back. I don't know what I would've done without you here over the last few months. I guess I'd either be in an asylum or...dead," he said softly, but meant every word of it. Without Jason's steadying influence and his love, things could have turned out very differently for Tommy and he knew it. With all the pressure he was under and the steady deterioration of his home life, he might have tried suicide again. He'd be lying if he said that it hadn't run through his mind.

A shiver ran through the Gold Ranger at the thought of his lover not being with them anymore and he moved to put both arms around him and hold tight. "I'm glad that I didn't go back either. Also really happy that I went back to the hospital that night and cleared things up between us." He was quiet for a moment. Now that it had been said, he kept seeing different images of Tommy dead... by his own hand, by Mondo's... even by his parents. It sent another shiver through him and he swallowed hard. "Promise me that if things ever get really bad at your place, you'll come to me."

Tommy nodded and then laid his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. "I will...I can't let those people drive me crazy. I've actually got a few places I can go now-your house, the res, and then I could always camp out at the Power Chamber if I had to-I just don't want to be a burden to anyone."

"You wouldn't be a burden coming over to my place. It'd be easy to convince my parents to add another bed in my room. There's plenty of room." He grinned. "Not that it would get used, but have to give them the illusion." He was quiet for few minutes. "Still can't wait for school to be over with so that we can get out of here."

"Yeah, that'll be nice. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that nothing comes up to prevent it, but...like you told me at the cabin, we'll work something out regardless. It's gonna be weird being out of high school at last, isn't it?"

He chuckled softly. "Very. No more parents hounding you to get out of bed because you'll be late. Picking our own classes and having to actually pay to go to school. It'll definitely be weird."

"It's exciting, though. And being in another city away from everyone we know-I guess it's the first step toward real independence. Hope we're up to it." Having been rangers for so long, they were much more mature and capable of taking care of themselves than your average eighteen-year-old, but the unknown was still a bit scary.

"Well, we'll still have each other. Who knows? One of the others might end up going to the same school as well. So, either way, we won't be alone. One thing we should do this summer though is whichever school we get into, we need to go look around for a place to live."

"Oh yeah, that's a definite." He paused and thought about something for a moment. "Jase, not to change the subject, but...I've been thinking about something for a while now. What if high school and being a ranger doesn't end at the same time? We can't leave Angel Grove if we're still active. I know Zordon keeps saying that he would never want to keep us from getting on with our lives, but...we've only got a few more months and things aren't calming down any."

"Maybe there's a way that we could hand down our powers. I mean, we were able to pass them on when Trini, Zack and I left, maybe we can do something like that again."

"Yeah, maybe so. As much as I'm looking forward to moving on, it's still gonna be weird not being a ranger anymore. You'll have to help me deal with it, okay?" he grinned. He happened to glance down at his watch and noticed the time. "It's almost midnight-I guess we should go back in and ring in the New Year with our friends, huh?" He stopped and made sure that his eyes were locked with his lover's. "But first, I want you to know how much I love you, Jase. You mean the world to me and I don't think I could go on without you. I don't know how I got so lucky, but I'm glad that we finally admitted how we feel about each other. You really are my soulmate." He leaned in and kissed his lover gently before pulling back and just gazing at him.

"I'm glad we admitted it to each other, too. From the first day I fought with you at the tournament, something about you just caught my eye. Then you tried to kill me-" he leaned in and kissed him softly, "-before we brought you back to our side. When you first came to me after losing your powers, scared from all the nightmares, not able to sleep, and wanting to talk, I knew that we could tell each other anything. Then when my feelings for you started to change, I got scared that you wouldn't return them. That's the real reason why I joined the Peace Conference. I'm glad I did, but only because it brought me back to you and the truth of how you felt about me. You're right, you are mo anamchara. Always will be." He leaned in again, kissing Tommy softly.

"Hey you two! Save it for midnight, okay?" they heard Adam's voice call and they turned around to see their grinning Green Ranger standing in the doorway. "It's almost time-get in here!" he said and motioned for them to come in the house. "Guess we should join them, huh?" Tommy asked, still in Jason's arms.

"Probably, otherwise he might sic Rocky on us." He shifted so that he could take hold of his boyfriend's hand and started leading him towards the house. "Come on, let's say good-bye to this year and kick the next one off to a great start."

"Sounds good. I hope the new one will be better!" Tommy said and followed his lover into the house.

Author's Notes: Well gang, that wraps up Book 1 of "In His Eyes". There's plenty more to the story, but after 35 chapters I thought it was time to divide things up. I am currently working on Book 2 and will start posting it as soon as possible. Please be sure to add my name to your Author Alerts so you'll be notified. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far—it only gets better from here! And thank you so much to my regular reviewers!


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